KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Hunter Dozier hit a pair of two-run triples to set a career high with four RBIs, Kelvin Gutierrez drove in two runs in his big league debut, and the Kansas City Royals cruised to a 9-4 win over the Los Angeles Angels on Saturday night.
Dozier wound up with four hits and Adalberto Mondesi had three in a game that dragged on for 3 hours, 40 minutes. The teams combined for 10 pitchers, 22 hits and 17 runners left on base on a cold, blustery evening at Kauffman Stadium.
Scott Barlow (1-0) navigated five outs in relief of Jorge Lopez to earn the win, while Jaime Barria was tagged with an ugly stat line and the loss for Los Angeles.
Barria (2-2) was listed as the starter but came in after Cam Bedrosian tossed a scoreless first inning. Barria proceeded to allow seven runs and 10 hits over 1 2/3 innings.
The game was knotted 1-all in the third when the Royals paraded 11 batters to the plate.
They cranked out eight hits and plated six runs with Gutierrez and Dozier doing most of the damage. Mondesi wound up with a pair of singles in the inning, the first Royals player to accomplish that feat since Ryan Goins last May against the Twins.
The Angels threatened to answer the six-spot in the fourth when they battered around, but they failed to take advantage of three walks and only scored three while leaving the bases loaded.
Dozier added his second two-run triple in the fifth to restore some of the cushion.
Mike Trout drove in a pair of runs for Los Angeles, but that was just about the only bright spot on another tough night on the road. The Angels fell to 3-15 in their last 18 road contests, and they still have not won back-to-back games away from home since last September.
ALL THAT GLITTERS
Royals outfielder Alex Gordon and catcher Salvador Perez were presented with their Gold Gloves before the game. It was the sixth for Gordon and fifth for Perez, who is out for the season after reconstructive elbow surgery. The ceremony was postponed from opening day due to weather.
THE NEW KELVIN
Gutierrez was called up Friday night after hitting .333 at Triple-A Omaha. The 24-year-old third baseman was acquired by the Royals last June for longtime reliever Kelvin Herrera.
ROSTER MOVES
The Royals recalled left-hander Ben Lively from Omaha and optioned right-hander Heath Fillmyer to the same club prior to the game. Lively was 2-1 with a 4.41 ERA in four appearances with the Storm Chasers.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Angels: DH Shohei Ohtani hit against live pitching before the game, but manager Brad Ausmus "bet my house" he wouldn't play before Wednesday. Ohtani is still rehabbing from Tommy John surgery.
Royals: CF Billy Hamilton left in the fifth inning with a tight right hamstring.
UP NEXT
Angels right-hander Matt Harvey, who made two starts against Kansas City in the 2015 World Series, gets the start in the series finale Sunday. Right-hander Homer Bailey is on the mound for the Royals.
