KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) - Albert Pujols passed Barry Bonds for third place in career RBIs, hitting a go-ahead, two-run double in the first inning to help the Los Angeles Angels beat the Kansas City Royals 7-3 Sunday.
Two nights after passing Lou Gehrig for fourth place, Pujols increased his RBIs total to 1,997 when he pulled a fastball from Homer Bailey (2-3) just past third baseman Kelvin Gutierrez. Pujols trails only Hank Aaron (2,297) and Alex Rodriguez (2,086) in RBIs, which became an official statistic in 1920.
Matt Harvey (1-2) got his first win with the Angels, allowing one run and two hits in seven innings. He lowered his ERA from 8.03 to 6.54 as the Angels won a road series for the first time this season.
Bailey gave up six hits to his first 13 batters and retired his final 10. He allowed four runs in six innings.
Tommy LaStella's RBI groundout in the first and Andrelton Simmons' RBI single in the third boosted the lead to 4-0.
Kansas City scored in the fourth without a hit when Alex Gordon reached on a wild pitch as he struck out, advanced on a walk, took third on a flyout and came home on Jorge Soler's sacrifice fly.
Hunter Dozier's RBI single off Ty Buttrey in the eighth cut the Royals' deficit to 4-2.
Justin Bour hit a three-run home run in the ninth against Ben Lively.
MOVES
Angels: Optioned RHP Jaime Barria to Triple-A Salt Lake and recalled RHP John Curtiss.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Angels: OF/RHP Shohei Ohtani continues to improve in his return from Tommy John surgery, taking batting practice each day. Manager Brad Ausmus would not say when he might be ready to hit in a game.
Royals: OF Billy Hamilton was out of the lineup with right hamstring tightness, a day after leaving in the fifth inning.
UP NEXT
Angels: Los Angeles plans to bring up top pitching prospect Griffin Canning to start Tuesday at Toronto in his major league debut. The 22-year-old right-hander is 1-0 with a 0.56 ERA at Salt Lake, allowing one earned run in 16 innings with 17 strikeouts and two walks. "I think we've always liked the stuff," manager Brad Aumus said. "There's been a little caution because of the limited time in the professional ranks, and of course, the pitch count, which we addressed by sending him to Arizona to get up to 90 pitches."
Royals: RHP Brad Keller (2-2) starts Monday against Tampa Bay after serving a five-game suspension for hitting Tim Anderson of the Chicago White Sox with a pitch April 17.
