Taylor Ward hit his 35th home run of the season and Kenley Jansen closed the game with his 475th career save as the Los Angeles Angels defeated the Kansas City Royals 3-2 on Wednesday night at Angel Stadium. The win allowed Los Angeles to avoid a sweep and provided a rare bright spot during a difficult stretch.
Oddsmakers had Kansas City favored at -120 on the moneyline, while Los Angeles entered at +100. The over/under was set at 9 runs, a figure that stayed under with the teams combining for five.
Yusei Kikuchi delivered an efficient start for the Angels, allowing only one hit and striking out six batters over five innings. The left-hander exited before the sixth inning after experiencing cramping in his forearm but still earned his seventh win of the season, improving to 7-11. Kikuchi’s lone blemish came in the fifth inning when Randal Grichuk connected for a solo home run to left.
Los Angeles provided early run support. In the second inning, Luis Rengifo doubled and later scored on an Oswald Peraza groundout to open the scoring. Ward followed an inning later with a solo shot that carried just over the left-field wall, a 320-foot homer that extended the lead to 2-0. Ward became one of three major league players this season to reach the benchmarks of at least 35 home runs, 100 batted in, and 30 doubles.
The Angels stretched their advantage to 3-0 in the fourth inning when Peraza reached base and attempted to advance on a play at second. Royals starter Stephen Kolek’s throw sailed wide of second baseman Jonathan India, allowing Peraza to score. Kolek, who has been a steady contributor for Kansas City, completed six innings while surrendering three runs, five hits, and two strikeouts. He fell to 5-7 on the season.
Kansas City began to claw back in the later innings. Grichuk’s home run broke up Kikuchi’s no-hit bid in the fifth, and in the seventh, Carter Jensen scored to narrow the deficit to one. The Royals threatened again in the inning, but Angels second baseman Christian Moore made a diving stop and a strong throw to end the frame, preserving the slim lead.
The Angels’ bullpen, which entered the game with the lowest save percentage in baseball at 51 percent and the American League’s highest bullpen ERA at 4.87, managed to hold the advantage. Jansen struck out two batters in the ninth to record his 28th save of the season and move closer to becoming just the seventh pitcher in major league history with 500 career saves.
Kansas City’s defense faltered at key moments. The Royals came in averaging fewer than half an error per game, but committed three miscues on Wednesday, directly contributing to Los Angeles’ scoring opportunities.
The Angels improved to just 2-10 over their last 12 games with the victory, while the Royals continued to slip further out of postseason contention. The series concludes Thursday with Los Angeles scheduled to start left-hander Mitch Farris (1-2, 6.52 ERA) against Kansas City right-hander Michael Lorenzen (6-11, 4.70 ERA).
