ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — All the small things are starting to add up to big results for the Kansas City Royals.
The Royals got some timely hits and another solid outing from their starting pitcher as they won for the fourth time in the last five games Monday night.
Andrew Benintendi, Salvador Perez and Hunter Dozier homered, Nicky Lopez drove in the go-ahead run in the seventh inning and Kris Bubic got his first victory of the season in the Royals’ 6-2 victory over the Los Angeles Angels.
“The big hits, the pitching, just all the little components we’ve been wanting to see everything put together and we’ve had that in the last few games. It’s important for our guys to see it and know what to expect,” manager Mike Matheny said.
Kris Bubic, who came into the game as one of four pitchers in the majors to have at least eight starts and no wins this season, struck out a season-high seven in six innings to improve to 1-4.
“As a pitcher, if you did your job the results kind of take care of itself,” said Bubic, who gave up two runs on six hits and walked two in six innings. “The offense getting on the board early gives you a little more confidence especially early on to attack, trust your stuff and go from there.”
Taylor Ward had two hits — including a homer in the third inning — and drove in both runs for the Angels. Los Angeles had come in with some momentum after taking four of five in Seattle, but managed only seven hits.
“I thought we had some good at-bats. Were they consistent throughout? Probably not, but we did hit a lot of balls hard,” manager Phil Nevin said.
Noah Syndergaard worked into the eighth inning for only the second time in 11 starts, but struggled at the end. Syndergaard (4-6) allowed five runs on eight hits in 7 1/3 innings. The right-hander struck out…