In a matchup full of moonshots, the Kansas City Royals rebounded from a three-game losing streak on Thursday, defeating the visiting Los Angeles Angels 4-3.
Bobby Witt Jr.’s eight-inning solo home run off Ryan Zeferjahn (6-5) broke a 3-3 tie.
Lucas Erceg (7-4) threw one scoreless inning for the win, and Carlos Estevez worked around a ninth-inning double for his 27th save.
Luis Rengifo (2-for-4) began the game with a three-run homer in the top of the first, which would be the Angels’ only runs of the night.
Royals starting pitcher Noah Cameron threw five innings, allowing three runs on five hits, tallying five strikeouts and five walks.
Angels starter Kyle Hendricks served up a solo home run to Adam Frazier in the second, which stands as his 1,000th career hit in the majors, as well as Vinnie Pasquantino in the fourth, his 400th career hit. Hendricks tossed six innings and gave up two runs on three hits with no strikeouts and three walks.
The Royals’ bats would take over from there, as Salvador Perez added a solo shot in the seventh to tie the game 3-3.
The slugfest win propels the Royals to two games back from a wild-card spot in the American League. Kansas City continues its homestand in a three-game series against the Minnesota Twins beginning Friday.
With the Angels sitting seven games back from a wild-card spot, they head home for a three-game series against the Athletics that starts Friday.
