Reid Detmers carried the Angels through eight shutout innings Saturday night, and Nolan Schanuel finished the job with a single swing in the eighth as Los Angeles edged the Kansas City Royals 1-0. Detmers allowed two hits, walked none and struck out 11, then watched Ben Joyce close out a hitless ninth for his second save.
That kind of one-run game is usually decided by one mistake, and Schanuel made the only one that mattered for Kansas City. Jose Siri entered as a pinch-runner after Wade Meckler walked, stole second and scored on Schanuel's RBI single, giving the Angels the run they needed while Schanuel went three for three and collected three of the club's six hits.
Detmers did not just survive traffic; he erased it. With no walks, every inning began with the Royals needing to earn each base runner the hard way, and his 11 strikeouts left Kansas City without a steady rhythm against him. It was also his first win this season at Angel Stadium, where the Angels have waited for that kind of start to translate into a result.
The Royals had a matching chance to control the night and could not cash it in. Randy Dobnak worked 5⅔ scoreless innings, struck out six and gave up four hits, yet Kansas City still came away with nothing when Nate Pearson allowed the winning run. Jac Caglianone extended his hitting streak to 13 games, but that was the only streak that kept moving for the Royals.
The Angels improved to 49-75 and won for the fourth time in five games, a small run that has started to change the feel around a club that has spent most of the summer chasing answers. Kansas City fell to 50-74 and left with the sort of loss that lingers because the pitching was there almost the entire night. Royals LHP Noah Cameron and RHP Ryan Johnson were set to meet in Sunday’s series finale, with the Royals trying to turn a near-perfect night from their starter into something that finally shows up in the standings.
