Royals 2, Angels 1
Kila Ka’aihue led off the ninth inning with a homer to right-center field to give the host Kansas City Royals a 2-1 victory over the Los Angeles Angels on Friday.
The left-handed hitting Ka’aihue jumped on a fastball from Angels reliever Michael Kohn (0-1) and sent the ball sailing over the 387-foot sign to even the Royals’ record at 1-1.
Joakim Soria (1-0) pitched a perfect ninth to earn the victory.
Ka’aihue’s game-winning shot overshadowed excellent performances from the starting pitchers.
Jeff Francis pitched seven solid innings in his Kansas City debut. The lefthander gave up one run and five hits, struck out four and walked one.
Los Angeles righthander Dan Haren also gave up one run in seven innings. He allowed six hits and struck out six.
The Angels (1-1) took a 1-0 lead on Howie Kendrick’s one-out homer in the first.
Kansas City tied the game in the fourth as Billy Butler and Ka’aihue singled with one out and moved up a base on a wild pitch. Butler scored on Jeff Francoeur’s groundout.
Ka’aihue and Alex Gordon each had two hits for Kansas City.
Erick Aybar had two of the Angels’ six hits.