ANGELS JUST CAN'T HOLD ON K.C'S MATT STAIRS EIGHTH INNING RBI SINGLE DOOMS L.A. KANSAS CITY 4, ANGELS 3.Byline: DOUG PADILLA Douglas ("Doug") Padilla (born October 4, 1956 in Oakland, California) is a former middle and long distance runner from the United States, who won the overall Grand Prix 1985 and the World Cup 5000m race in 1985. Staff Writer ANAHEIM -- Not even a matchup with the worst team in baseball has given the Angels the opportunity to relax. After beating the Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are a professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals are a member of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. From to the present, the Royals have played in Kauffman Stadium. in the first two games of the current four-game series, the Angels were defeated 4-3 after they barely could get into scoring position In the sport of baseball, a baserunner is said to be in scoring position when he is on second or third base. The distinction between being on first base and second or third base is that a runner on first can usually only score if the batter hits an extra base hit, while a runner on following the second inning. It was only the seventh road victory of the season for the Royals. Angels starter Kelvim Escobar Kelvim Jose Escobar Bolivar [ess-coe-BAR] (born April 11, 1976 in La Guaira, Venezuela) is a starting pitcher in Major League Baseball who currently plays for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (2004-present). He bats and throws right handed. didn't get a decision in the game, which was progress considering he had lost each of his last five starts. Not all has been bad during his losing streak, though. Halfway through it, Escobar did sign a three-year extension worth $28.5 million Just like his season has been, Escobar wasn't horrible Wednesday, he just ended up with nothing to show for his effort. He entered the game with a 5-7 record, but he did have a 3.72 ERA. His problem Wednesday was his inability to hold down a two-run lead against a club that entered with the third worst batting average batting average n. Baseball A measure of a batter's performance obtained by dividing the total of base hits by the number of times at bat, not including walks. Noun 1. in the American League American League (AL) One of the two associations of professional baseball teams in the U.S. and Canada designated as major leagues; the other is the National League (NL). . Escobar gave up a first-inning run on a home run by Mark Grudzielanek Mark James Grudzielanek (born June 30, 1970 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin) is a second baseman in Major League Baseball who currently plays for the Kansas City Royals. Previously, Grudzielanek played with the Montreal Expos (1995-1998), Los Angeles Dodgers (1998-2002), Chicago Cubs , but the Angels erased that in the second inning with three runs. Tim Salmon Napoli attended Charles Flanagan High School in Pembroke Pines, Florida. followed with a walk and Robb Quinlan Robb William Quinlan (born March 17, 1977 in St. Paul, Minnesota) is a Major League Baseball player. He currently plays third base for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Quinlan graduated from the University of Minnesota in 1999, obtaining a degree in marketing and communications. crushed a two-out home run to left-center. It was the first home run for Quinlan, who was making just his 23rd start of the season and his 18th at first base. Escobar was locked in after Grudzielanek's home run as he retired 14 of the next 15 Royals batters. Trouble came in the sixth inning following a Chone Figgins error at third base. John Buck led off the Royals sixth inning with a single and was followed by David DeJesus, who hit a grounder to Figgins. From one knee, Figgins' throw to Maicer Izturis at the second-base bag was wide and went straight into right field. Grudzielanek then delivered an RBI RBI abbr. Baseball runs batted in Noun 1. rbi - a run that is the result of the batter's performance; "he had more than 100 rbi last season" run batted in single and Doug Mientkiewicz followed that with a run-scoring ground out to second base. Royals starter Mark Redman, meanwhile, was holding down the Angels after Quinlan's home run. He allowed single base runners in the fourth, six and seventh innings but the Angels never manufactured a serious scoring threat. Redman, who had lost his first four decisions of the season and had three no-decisions to go along with that, entered on his first two-game win streak since May of last season. The left-hander gave his team enough time to push across the go-ahead run in the eighth inning. With Scot Shields on the mound in relief of Escobar, the Royals were able to get things done with two outs. DeJesus opened the eighth with a single and a sacrifice bunt and a ground out later he was on third. A walk to Reggie Sanders was followed by an RBI single from Matt Stairs and a 4-3 lead. Redman gave up three runs on four hits with three walks in eight innings. He managed to pitch well despite not being very sharp. Of his 103 pitches, 56 were for strikes. Ambiorix Burgos came on in the ninth and recorded his ninth save, but not without a scare. Vladimir Guerrero led off the ninth with a single. Pinch hitter Adam Kennedy was unable to bunt him over, eventually striking out, but Guerrero moved to second on a wild pitch. Mike Napoli walked but Darin Erstad followed with a game-ending double-play grounder. So while the Angels' coaching staff ponders who to remove from the rotation as Bartolo Colon nears his return, the same old questions about the offense persist. On Wednesday, Scioscia was using his 49th different lineup in 65 games. Potential starters Erstad, Kennedy, Dallas McPherson and Kendry Morales all were on the bench at the game's start. Quinlan, who was starting for Morales, did deliver, but infrequent starters Juan Rivera and Izturis were 0-for-5 with a walk. doug.padilla@sgvn.com (626) 962-8811, Ext. 2731 CAPTION(S): photo, box Photo: Kansas City's Matt Stairs watches his run-scoring single off Angels pitcher Scot Shields in the eighth inning. Stairs' hit scored David DeJesus and snapped a 3-3 tie. Francis Specker/Associated Press Box: ANGELS vs. KANSAS CITY -Doug Padilla |
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