Kansas City Royals @ Los Angeles Angels
Angels lose Huston Street but complete sweep of Royals
ANAHEIM, Calif. -- The Los Angeles Angels lost closer Huston Street to a pregame injury, which put a damper on their three-game sweep of the defending World Series champion.
Street strained his left oblique muscle playing catch and could be headed for the disabled list, so setup man Joe Smith had to close out the Angels' 4-2 victory over the Kansas City Royals -- a win fueled by Mike Trout's tying two-run homer and solo shots by Yunel Escobar and Andrelton Simmons.
"It's never a good thing when you lose your closer, but that's why there's seven of us out there [in the bullpen]," said Smith, according to The Orange County Register.
Smith recorded his first save of the season after pitching the ninth inning.
"Everybody has to step up and do a little more than you were asked to before," Smith said. "Just get ready to go. We have guys who are capable of doing it."
Street, who said he had never before injured an oblique, tweaked the muscle to the side of the abdomen near the end of his throwing routine on a light, short toss.
"I made one more throw and thought, 'There's definitely something in there,'" Street said, according to The Register.
Escobar, the Angels' leadoff hitter, drove Chris Young's 3-1 pitch to center field for his third homer of the season leading off the sixth to put the Angels ahead 3-2. Escobar had four hits in Tuesday night's 9-4 victory.
"Chris did a great job. He gave up three hits, but two of them were home runs," Royals manager Ned Yost said. "They didn't have a guy in scoring position all night long. Every run scored in that game was on a home run."
Simmons ended the scoring in the seventh with his first homer as an Angel. His other 31 came with Atlanta, which sent the two-time Gold Glove shortstop to the Angels in a multiplayer trade that sent Erick Aybar to the Braves in November.
Fernando Salas (1-1) got the victory in relief, and Smith got three outs for his first save in two chances. Nick Tropeano pitched 5 1/3 innings for the Angels, allowing two runs and eight hits with six strikeouts.
"I think today was just a battling day for me," Tropeano said. "I don't think I had my best stuff location-wise and was a little inconsistent with my fastball. But I made pitches when I had to, and these guys picked me up offensively."
Eric Hosmer hit a two-run homer in the Royals' first, extending his hitting streak to a career-best 17 games.
Young (1-4) allowed three runs and three hits over 5 2/3 innings. The 36-year-old right-hander has allowed at least one home run in each of his first five starts.
"Physically, I felt great. I felt like I pitched better than my results," Young said. "I feel bad that I didn't make that lead hold up. This was a night where I could have picked up the hitters a little bit and get us back on track. I'm frustrated that we didn't win. That's my biggest disappointment."
Tropeano came in having allowed two home runs in his first 75 1/3 innings in the big leagues.
Trout erased a deficit in the fourth with his fifth homer, driving an 0-2 pitch over the trees in center field after a leadoff single by Rafael Ortega. The 2014 American League MVP is hitting .353 over his last 14 games after starting the season 5-for-27.
"It was up and away, but the ball drifted back a little bit," Young said. "It could have been a couple of inches higher, but when you make a mistake to a good hitter, he's going to make you pay."
SPIKE MARKS
Angels: Nine of Trout's 37 career hits against Kansas City have been home runs. ... The Angels have produced no more than four runs in 17 of the team's first 21 games. ... Tropeano picked off Dyson at first base with runners at the corners to end the fourth. The right-hander did the same thing to Seattle's Nori Aoki in his previous start to end the second inning.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Angels: LHP Andrew Heaney, whose flexor muscle strain during his first start of the season is the reason Tropeano was recalled from Triple-A Salt Lake on April 7, will look at other opinions on the slow-healing injury. ... LF Daniel Nava will work out in Arizona during the team's six-game road trip.
UP NEXT
Royals: RHP Kris Medlen (1-1, 6.00 ERA) gets the assignment for the opener of a three-game series at Seattle. It will be his first appearance against the Mariners, one of four teams the seven-year veteran has yet to face along with the Angels, Rangers and Braves, the club that drafted him in 2006.
Angels: LHP Hector Santiago (2-0, 2.70 ERA) opposes Colby Lewis in the opener of a three-game set at Arlington, Texas. The Angels have won each of Santiago's last 10 starts, including his no-decision April 7 at the "Big A," when they pulled out a 4-3 win on Albert Pujols' bases-loaded walk-off single in the ninth.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
LAA win 3-0
Game Information
- Umpires:
- Home Plate Umpire - Tim Timmons
- First Base Umpire - Toby Basner
- Second Base Umpire - Jordan Baker
- Third Base Umpire - Mike Everitt
2026 American League Central Standings
| Team | W | L | PCT | GB | STRK |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cleveland | 15 | 13 | .536 | - | L1 |
| Detroit | 14 | 14 | .500 | 1 | L2 |
| Minnesota | 12 | 15 | .444 | 2.5 | L4 |
| Chicago | 11 | 16 | .407 | 3.5 | L1 |
| Kansas City | 10 | 17 | .370 | 4.5 | W2 |
2026 American League West Standings
| Team | W | L | PCT | GB | STRK |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | 14 | 13 | .519 | - | W1 |
| Athletics | 14 | 13 | .519 | - | L1 |
| Seattle | 13 | 15 | .464 | 1.5 | W3 |
| Los Angeles | 12 | 16 | .429 | 2.5 | L2 |
| Houston | 10 | 18 | .357 | 4.5 | L2 |

