Adam Frazier’s two-run home run in the top of the ninth inning flipped the game and lifted the Kansas City Royals to a 2-1 victory over the Los Angeles Angels Friday night in Anaheim, Calif.
Angels starter Griffin Canning and three relievers combined to shut out the Royals for eight innings, taking a 1-0 lead into the ninth and handing the ball over to closer Carlos Estevez.
With one out in the ninth, MJ Melendez got his third hit of the game with a single off Estevez (0-2). Frazier followed and got a 96-mph fastball on a 2-0 count, hitting the ball over the fence in right for his first homer of the season and a 2-1 Royals advantage.
Tyler Duffy (1-0) pitched a scoreless eighth inning to get the win and John Schreiber a scoreless ninth for his first save of the season for Kansas City.
The Angels finished with five hits, including Jo Adell’s solo homer in the fifth. They had plenty of opportunities to score, but went 0-for-14 with runners in scoring position.
Canning threw 5 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing three hits, walking two and striking out three while making 90 pitches. Royals starter Alec Marsh matched Canning inning-for-inning through four innings, with the game remaining tied 0-0 entering the fifth.
The Royals’ best threat to score against Canning came in the top of the fifth, after a single from Melendez and a walk from Frazier put runners on first and second with one out. But Canning escaped unscathed, retiring the next two hitters to keep the game scoreless.
In the bottom of the fifth, Adell led off and got ahold of a 92-mph sinker that Marsh left over the middle of the plate, hitting the ball over the fence in center field for his sixth homer of the season and a 1-0 Angels lead.
Marsh sandwiched a couple walks around an out in the sixth inning, forcing Royals manager Matt Quatraro to come out with the hook. Marsh gave up one run on four hits and two walks in 5 1/3 innings, striking out seven while making 85 pitches.
–Field Level Media