ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) -- Kevin Gregg showed just how valuable he

is to the Los Angeles Angels.

Gregg pitched five gritty innings in a spot start for the

injured Kelvim Escobar, and the Angels beat the Kansas City Royals

8-3 Saturday night.

"I've been playing with him the last three years, so it's no

surprise to me that he's ready for whatever the Angels need from

him," Los Angeles second baseman Chone Figgins said. "He has good

stuff. He tries to keep himself under control, he knows what he

wants to do and he doesn't try to do too much."

Vladimir Guerrero also drove in two runs and Bengie Molina

homered, and Gregg (1-0) allowed three runs and three hits while

striking out four and walking four.

The right-hander, effective starting and relieving, escaped a

bases-loaded jam in the second by striking out four-time All-Star

Mike Sweeney to keep the score tied at 1.

"It was a pivotal situation in the game," Gregg said. "They

had bases loaded and their best hitter at the plate. It's not

exactly a situation you want to be in, but I got through it and I

was able to get a punchout when I needed it. I battled out there

and gave our offense a chance to get started."

Gregg is 3-0 with a 2.16 ERA in his four big-league starts. As a

reliever, he is 5-2 with a 4.58 ERA in 57 appearances.

"Fortunately I've had success at both, but right now we have

five guys to put out there, and we're going to win a lot of

ballgames with them," he said.

Jose Lima (0-2) failed to get through the fourth inning for the

second time in two outings since rejoining the Royals as a free

agent in December. The right-hander threw 84 pitches in just 3 2/3

innings, allowing seven runs -- three earned -- and eight hits. Last Monday at Detroit, Lima gave up five runs over

three innings in his first career opening-day start.

Lima needed 32 pitches to get out of the first inning. He gave

up singles to Darin Erstad and Guerrero, then walked Steve Finley

and Orlando Cabrera with two out to force in a run. But he

minimized the damage by getting Molina to ground into a force at

third and strand three.

"The first inning took a lot out of me, but I made some good

pitches," Lima said. "Things aren't going my way right now. I'm

not having fun right now. I've got a lot of stuff in my head.

That's not Jose Lima out there. I'm trying to get 27 outs on one

pitch. But I've been down this road before and I've bounced back."

Figgins snapped a 1-1 tie in the second inning with a sacrifice

fly after a leadoff triple by rookie Maicer Izturis.

The Angels increased their lead to 7-1 with five runs in the

third, helped by an error by Royals second baseman Ruben Gotay.

After Gotay took a throw from third baseman Tony Graffanino on a

potential fielder's choice grounder by Izturis, he failed to make

contact with the bag before making a late relay throw to first

base.

"We should have gotten out of that inning, but I'm not pointing

fingers," Lima said. "I should have backed him up and made some

pitches to get out of that inning. I've got the ball in my hand, so

I'll take all the blame. I always do. I never make excuses."

Figgins and Erstad followed with RBI singles, Guerrero drove in

two more runs with a two-out single and Garret Anderson chased Lima

with a two-run double over the head of center fielder David

DeJesus.

"In any sport, you take advantage of mistakes. And we took

advantage of theirs," Figgins said. "Lima was throwing some tough

pitches, but we just battled, had some good at-bats and put the

ball in play."

The Royals tied it in the second when DeJesus struck out on a

pitch in the dirt and made it to first as the ball squirted between

Molina's legs. Terence Long, who scored from third on the play, led

off the inning with a double and advanced on Gotay's sacrifice

bunt.

Molina led off the eighth against Shawn Camp with his second

home run.Game notes
The bases-loaded walk represented the first RBI this season

for Cabrera, who signed a 4-year, $32 million contract with the

Angels after helping Boston win the World Series. ... Anderson is

8-for-14 lifetime against Lima. ... Angels relievers Esteban Yan

and Bret Prinz did not allow a hit over the last four innings.