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Anderson’s five RBIs too much for Royals in 5-3 loss to Angels
By BOB DUTTONThe Kansas City Star
The Royals goosed their run-starved attack for an early lead Tuesday night before Brian Bannister gave it all back and more in a 5-3 loss to the Los Angeles Angels at Kauffman Stadium.
It came down to this: Bannister couldn’t retire Garret Anderson in RBI situations. Anderson hit a three-run homer in the fourth inning and delivered two-out RBI singles in the fifth and seventh.
“That game was pretty simple,” Bannister agreed. “They were better with runners in scoring position and by they, I mean Garret Anderson all by himself.”
Anderson’s five RBIs were sufficient to saddle Bannister, 3-4, with a fourth straight loss and drop the Royals to 14-18. The Angels, 22-13, have won four in a row and will go for a three-game sweep in tonight’s series finale.
“Garret Anderson comes in here hitting .222,” Royals manager Trey Hillman noted sourly, “and we’ve got him up to about .235 to .240 (actually .237). We didn’t make good pitches.”
True enough. Anderson is a three-time All-Star in his 15th season, but he had been struggling. He had just two homers and 11 RBIs in 30 games before boosting those totals to four and 18 in the last two games.
The difference, apparently, isn’t simply facing the Royals but rather some mysterious adjustment that Anderson contends is “very hard to explain.” It isn’t some mechanical fine-tuning or a growing comfort level with being dropped to sixth in the order.
“You wouldn’t understand,” Anderson said.
Well, fine.
All that matters, really, is Anderson floored the Royals just when they seemed to be stirring offensively.
The Royals spanked Angels rookie Nick Adenhart for two runs in the second inning and another run in the third.
That marked the first time since April 29, a full week, that the Royals held a lead in the first four innings of a game.
“I really felt it was going to be a good night for us,” Hillman said, “when we got out to a lead. But they came back in a hurry and got the lead. Banny was not as sharp as he has the ability to be.”
Reliever Darren Oliver, 2-1, got the victory after retiring five straight hitters once he replaced Adenhart with runners at first and second with one out in the fifth. Justin Speier, Scot Shields and Francisco Rodriguez closed out the victory.
Rodriguez worked the ninth for his 14th save in 15 chances. The four LA relievers yielded no runs and two hits over the final 4 2/3 innings.
The Angels finished with 15 hits, including at least two from six different players.
Still, the Royals had a real shot after loading the bases with one out in the seventh against Speier. But Mark Teahen struck out on a check swing, and Miguel Olivo fouled out to the catcher.
“You put yourself in position (to score) with the bases loaded,” Hillman said, “then you strike out — you’re not even giving yourself a chance. Obviously, we didn’t hit (well) with runners in scoring position.”
Specifically, the Royals were three for 10 with runners in scoring position; the Angels were actually worse at three for 11.
Teahen and Olivo also stranded two runners in the fifth after Mike Scioscia summoned Oliver to replace Adenhart. Two strikeouts.
“We had some good opportunities there to get some more runs,” Olivo shrugged, “but me and Teahen, we just missed the ball. That’s part of the game.”
Adenhart lasted just 4 1/3 innings in his second career start. He gave up three early runs but carried a 4-3 lead into the fifth before exiting after successive two-out walks.
The Royals built their lead on RBI doubles by Olivo and Ross Gload in the second inning and another RBI double by Alex Gordon in the third.
“Our team gave us three runs,” Bannister said, “and I need to make that a win for us more often.”
Instead, questions are suddenly circling over Bannister, who gave up five runs and 13 hits in 6 2/3 innings. His ERA has jumped from 0.86 to 4.46 over his last four starts.
“It’s on my mind,” he admitted. “You don’t ever want to go out and not feel confident in what you’re doing. But it’s tougher when you haven’t won (in a) couple. We jumped out early, and I wanted to hold that lead.
“I haven’t executed as well as I’ve wanted to. The main difference between the first three games and the last four has been I’ve given up hits with runners in scoring position. That’s really the only difference.”
Big difference, though.