*Photo from the Los Angeles Times*
Without Mike Trout, the Los Angeles Angels have had some struggles. Even with him, they have their struggles. They certainly did not have any struggles against the Kansas City Royals. Max Stassi drove in 3 runs, Anthony Rendon and Jose Iglesias had RBI's, and the Angels cruised past the Royals with an 8-3 win Monday night.
Dylan Bundy got his first win of 2021 for the Angels, a rebound performance from a tough start to the season. Bundy allowed two runs on 6 hits, while striking out two hitters, in 5 2/3 innings pitched, improving to 1-6 on the season. Chris Rodriguez then pitched 1 1/3 innings of relief, followed by Mike Mayers and James Hoyt each pitching an inning.
Stassi said of Bundy's outing that "I thought he was outstanding. He was the same old guy that we're used to. Everyone kind of goes through things throughout the course of the season. Nobody's perfect. He works his tail off in between starts and he wants to give us the best chance to succeed. So, I'm extremely happy for him here going forward. H's one of our guys and we're counting on him big time."
Angels manager Joe Maddon was also impressed with Bundy's start, saying "I saw a better curveball, a better changeup and the fastball got better in-game. I just didn't want to all of a sudden give up a three-run home run and shrink the lead where you really have to stress out your bullpen. I just wanted to be proactive there. But again, he did not lose his composure or his confidence and he kept getting better. I believe the latter part of the game is the Dylan Bundy we're used to and one we can expect to see in the future."
Rendon got the Angels scoring started in the first win an RBI single to left. Stassi followed that up with an RBI single of his own. Jared Walsh then scored on a ground out, and Juan Lagares hit an RBI single, and it was 4-0 Angels after one inning. In the 4th, David Fletcher hit an RBI single, followed by a two run homer by Stassi in the 5th. Stassi then scored in the 8th to make it an 8-3 game.
For the Royals, Jorge Soler got the scoring started in the second inning with a solo homer to left field, making it a 4-1 Angels lead at the time. Hunter Dozier then hit an RBI double and it was a 4-2 deficit. They didn't score again until the 7th inning, when Whit Merrifield hit an RBI single to cut the Angels lead to 7-3.
One of the Royals top pitching prospects, Jackson Kowar, was called up to make his major league debut, and the Angels did a good job of ruining it. Kowar was tagged for 4 runs on 3 hits and two walks, recording just two outs in his first big league appearance. Ervin Santana had to pitch 4 innings in relief of Kowar, followed by 2 1/3 for Wade Davis, and one inning from Greg Holland.
Royals manager Mike Matheny said of Kowar's tough start that he had a "Very clear in our conversation that there's a lot going on in that first day out there. Even I told him on the mound his stuff looks good and that stuff's gonna be in this game a long time. Just take one of these days as those growing opportunities and just a stepping stone, because he's not going to have another like that. He's got too good of stuff and the way he competes."
The Royals and Angels continue their series tonight, with Kris Bubic starting for Kansas City, and Andrew Heaney going for Los Angeles.
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