ANAHEIM, Calif.—Dairon Blanco had three hits, including a two-run home run in the third inning, Michael Wacha picked up his first win in more than a month, and the Kansas City Royals rolled to a 10–4 victory over the Los Angeles Angels on Thursday night.
“He comes ready to play whenever he’s in the lineup, whether that’s starting or just coming off the bench,” Royals Manager Matt Quatraro said of Blanco, who is mostly used as a pinch runner, but has hit safely in five of his seven starts this season.
Vinnie Pasquantino also had a two-run homer in the third and drove in three runs for the Royals, who have won three of their past four games. Pasquantino has nine RBIs in his past five games.
Maikel Garcia added three hits, including a two-run double in the sixth.
Wacha (2–4) had gone 0–4 in his previous five starts, but allowed only two hits in six innings before running into trouble in the seventh. The Angels loaded the bases, and Luis Guillorme and Cole Tucker drew bases-loaded walks to chase the right-hander.
“Those first six innings, I felt like I was locked in, you know?“ Wacha said. ”Then, kind of lost it in the seventh. I’m not going to let that affect how I feel coming out of there. The stuff was good, and had a good mix.”
Wacha gave up three runs, two of which were earned, on three hits and struck out six in six-plus innings.
The Angels had runners at first and second with one out, but reliever Daniel Lynch IV made a great grab of Kevin Pillar’s grounder to start a double play and end the inning.
The Angels, in their first home game after a 3–3 road trip, had five hits and fell to 4–12 at Angel Stadium, the worst home start in franchise history.
Angels starter Reid Detmers (3–4) retired the first six Royals before running into trouble in the third. Hunter Renfroe drew a leadoff walk, and Blanco followed by driving Detmers’ slider into the left-field bullpen. Later in the inning, Pasquantino’s two-run shot to right went 442 feet, the farthest ball he has hit in three years in the major leagues.
Detmers allowed six runs and seven hits while striking out five in five innings. The left-hander has allowed at least four runs in four straight starts, after having given up just four runs through his first four starts.
“Tonight, everything he landed, they got to, and he wasn’t landing very much. Tonight wasn’t his night,” Manager Ron Washington said. “When he did make a good pitch, they found a way to put it into play. We struck out 13 tonight, and they still had 12 hits and put 10 runs on the board.”
Trainer’s Room
Angels: Infielders Brandon Drury (left hamstring strain) and Luis Rengifo (viral infection) were placed on the 10-day injured list. The moves and Los Angeles’ lineup were not announced until eight minutes before first pitch.Up Next
Kansas City right-hander Alec Marsh (3–0, 2.70 earned-run average), who had a right-elbow contusion, is expected to come off the 15-day injured list to start Friday. Right-hander Griffin Canning (1–4, 6.69) gets the call for the Angels.By Joe Reedy
