KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Paul DeJong hit a two-run homer, Seth Lugo once again looked like the pitcher whose brilliant first half made him an All-Star, and the Kansas City Royals beat the Los Angeles Angels 5-3 on Monday night to extend their winning streak to five games.
Lugo (14-7), who had been just 2-3 with 5.23 ERA since the All-Star break, allowed four hits and three walks over seven innings while striking out eight. That moved him into a tie with the Braves’ Chris Sale and the Tigers’ Tarik Skubal for the big league lead in wins.
Salvador Perez added two hits and three RBIs for the Royals, who have outscored their opponents 37-7 during their winning streak. Kansas City never trailed in any of those games against the AL Central-rival Twins, Reds and Angels.
Lugo only allowed two hits until the seventh, when Brandon Drury drew a walk and Mickey Moniak and Jo Adell followed with doubles to draw the Angels to 3-2. Lugo bounced back by getting Taylor Ward to pop out and end the inning.
Kris Bubic gave up Zach Neto’s homer in the eighth before John Schreiber worked the ninth for his second save.
Carson Fulmer (0-4) allowed three runs — two earned — and five hits with three walks over four innings for Los Angeles.
He was in trouble right from the start, when Michael Massey led off with a single and Fulmer walked a pair of batters in the first inning. And while he was able to wiggle out of that jam, it drove Fulmer’s pitch count up and led to a short night.
Massey walked leading off the third and scored on Perez’s single. But the first big blow for Kansas City came in the fourth, when DeJong hit his two-run shot into the left-field bullpen. It came one pitch after he had yanked a would-be homer just foul.
Perez added a two-run double off Angels reliever Victor Mederos in the seventh to restore the Royals’ cushion.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Angels: 3B Anthony Rendon was back in the lineup after getting hit by a pitch on the elbow in Atlanta and missing the next two games. “The last three days he’s been taking care of it, and he said he’s ready to go,” Angels manager Ron Washington said.
Royals: RHP Hunter Harvey (back tightness) hopes to throw a bullpen session later in the week. He has been out since Aug. 5. If that goes well, the club will decide whether Harvey needs a rehab assignment, Royals general manager J.J. Picollo said,
ROSTER MOVES
Royals: RHP John Schreiber (right patellar tendon) was reinstated from the injured list Monday. The reliever had been out since July 28. RHP Carlos Hernandez was optioned to Triple-A Omaha in the corresponding roster move.
UP NEXT
Angels LHP Tyler Anderson (9-11, 3.30 ERA) starts the second game of the series on Tuesday night. LHP Cole Ragans (10-7, 3.18) goes for his sixth win in his last seven starts for Kansas City.
