The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim will try for their seventh straight win on Saturday afternoon as they continue their four-game series with the Kansas City Royals.
After claiming Thursday's series opener, the Angels downed the Royals again on Friday, 5-2. With the game tied at 2-2 heading into the seventh, the Angels forged ahead with a three-run inning, with Mike Trumbo's RBI single proving to be the game-winner.
Mike Trout's hot streak continued, going 2-for-4 with two runs scored and a stolen base. He now has 21 multi-hit games this season and is hitting .359 in May.
"You don't want to bank on extended streaks, but you do want to get on a roll," Trout said. "We probably could have done some things better tonight, but we got some clutch hits when we needed them."
Chris Iannetta belted his fifth homer of the season, which tied the game in the sixth inning.
Jason Vargas (4-3) won his fourth straight decision, pitching into the eighth inning while allowing five hits and two earned runs.
"He's using both side of the plate and changing speeds," Angels manager Mike Scioscia said of Vargas. "He understands his stuff and is very consistent with it. He's letting his defense make plays."
Garrett Richards recorded the final five outs without yielding a run to earn his first save of the year.
Luis Mendoza started for the Royals and left the game with the lead, but Luke Hochevar (0-1) allowed two earned runs in an inning of work and was handed the loss.
Miguel Tejada hit his second homer of the year (306th career), while Lorenzo Cain was 2-for-4 with a stolen base.
The Royals have lost seven of their last eight since taking two of three in Anaheim from May 13-15. They have also dropped 14 of their last 18 games, scoring two runs or less in 11 of those setbacks.
On Saturday, the Angels will turn to Billy Buckner, who will be making his season debut and hasn't pitched in the big leagues since 2010. He was 4-2 with a 4.56 ERA in eight starts with Triple-A Salt Lake prior to his call up.
Buckner played his rookie campaign with Kansas City in 2007, sporting a 5.29 ERA in seven appearances.
Jeremy Guthrie will go for the Royals, and while his season as a whole has been solid (5-2, 3.49 ERA), he has been roughed up in his last two outings.
The right-hander has lost back-to-back starts, allowing a combined 19 hits, six walks and 11 earned runs in 12 innings versus the Angels (May 14) and the Astros (May 20).
Luckily for Guthrie, he has been outstanding at home this season, going 3-0 with a 1.61 ERA at Kauffman Stadium.
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