Anaheim, CA – Billy Butler went 5-for-5 with two doubles and five RBI to lead the Kansas City Royals to an 11-4 rout of the LA Angels of Anaheim in the opener of a three-game set at Angel Stadium.
Salvador Perez went 3-for-4 with a double and two RBI and Lorenzo Cain added three hits, two RBI and two runs scored for the Royals, who snapped a three- game losing streak.
"We knew the offense would click, and tonight it did. Up and down, everyone contributed. Billy is one of the best hitters I have ever seen, he can really hit and he can carry the team for a period of time," said Royals manager Ned Yost.
Luis Mendoza (1-2) gave up three runs on six hits while striking out six over six frames. Luke Hochevar earned the first save of his career after spinning three innings of one-run ball.
J.B. Shuck, Albert Pujols, Mark Trumbo and Chris Iannetta each drove in a run for the Angels, losers in six of their last nine games.
Joe Blanton (0-7) was tagged with the loss after giving up seven runs on 12 hits over 4 2/3 innings.
"I felt good, I thought I had good stuff, but when they made contact it found a hole. That's baseball," Blanton said.
Butler got things started for the Royals in the first as he ripped a two-out double to right field to score Alex Gordon. Butler's two-run single in the third made it 3-0.
Iannetta got the Halos on the board with a base hit to center field to score Alberto Callaspo in the home half.
Jarrod Dyson's double in the fourth pushed Cain across to give the Royals a 4-1 edge, and the visitors added three more in both the fifth and sixth innings to go up 10-1.
With two on and one out in the fifth, Cain roped a single to left field to score Butler. After Mike Moustakas grounded out to second, Perez clubbed a double to center to bring Eric Hosmer and Cain around.
In the sixth, Butler crushed another double to right field to score Alcides Escobar and Gordon. Cain added an RBI single two hitters later to give Kansas City a nine-run edge.
The Angels scored a pair in the bottom of the sixth. Pujols doubled home Mike Trout, moved to third on a wild pitch then scored on Trumbo's ground out to third.
Escobar added an RBI double in the seventh and Shuck doubled home Callaspo in the home half to account for the final margin.
Game Notes
There were no walks issued in the game by either team ... Butler has two career five-hit games ... The Royals were 7-for-15 with runners in scoring position ... Kansas City had 19 hits ... Josh Hamilton and Callaspo both collected two hits for the Angels.
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