Four solo homers by the Royals help KC salvage win vs. Angels: series takeaways
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Royals closed series with Angels via solo homer from Bobby Witt Jr. in eighth.
- Four solo homers, including Frazier’s 1,000th hit, powered KC’s limited offense.
- Win narrowed Wild Card gap to half-game as Royals eye Mariners, Rangers next.
The Kansas City Royals hold all the cards in their pursuit of a second straight playoff appearance. This month, they can make an emphatic statement down the stretch.
The Royals have a massive home series against Seattle in mid-September. The Mariners sit two games ahead of the club for the third and final American League Wild Card spot.
The Royals also hold the tiebreaker over another team in pursuit, the Texas Rangers. They would need to simply leapfrog or tie the Rangers to finish ahead of them in the final tally.
Things line up well on both fronts. However, the Royals still need to take care of business if they are going to realize any of their postseason dreams.
And that starts with beating teams that rank lower than them in the standings. On Thursday, the Royals salvaged the series finale against the Los Angeles Angels at Kauffman Stadium: Bobby Witt Jr. hit a game-winning solo homer in a 4-3 KC victory.
“For Bobby to put a good swing on it like that, that’s huge for us,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro said. “We needed the win. And for the guys to battle all the way back, it was really impressive.”
Witt made up for his defensive mistake in Wednesday’s game by belting his 21st homer of the year off Angels reliever and former Kansas Jayhawk Ryan Zeferjahn in the eighth inning.
“By the time I got home, it was on to the next,” Witt said. “So that’s what’s so great about this game. You just got to be able to kind of flush it, move on and get to the next day. And then be ready for whenever the opportunity comes.”
The win snapped the Royals’ three-game losing streak and moved them a half-game closer in the AL standings.
The Royals also continued a run of success in series finales. Witt’s homer was one of four Thursday night — all solo shots — as the long ball fueled the Kansas City offense.
Noah Cameron pitches uneven start
Royals left-handed starter Noah Cameron didn’t have his best command on Thursday against the Angels.
The Angels made him work throughout the game. In the first inning, Cameron retired his first two batters before Luis Rengifo tagged him with a three-run homer.
“I felt really good again,” Cameron said. “I think just the stuff was better than it has been. Just kind of some bad pitches in 3-2 counts. Obviously, the first inning was kind of a tough home run there.”
At times, Cameron lost the strike zone. He issued five walks but was bailed out by some key double plays. The Royals’ defense erased a potential rally in the fourth inning after Cameron surrendered a double to Rengifo and walked first baseman Oswald Peraza.
With two runners aboard, Cameron retired catcher Logan O’Hoppe to extinguish the threat: O’Hoppe grounded into a 5-4-3 double play.
“I think without (the double plays), you know, I think it’s definitely a different outing,” Cameron said. “I think I get pulled probably earlier. The pitch count is definitely higher than it definitely was without those double plays. So they were huge, big moments, some with one out, just to kind of get me out of the inning and stuff like that.”
Cameron threw 54 of his 93 pitches for strikes. He mixed in all five of his pitches, but the Angels showed patience at the plate.
Los Angeles slugger Jo Adell worked a seven-pitch walk to set up Rengifo’s home run. Later, in the third inning, major-league superstar Mike Trout — who returned after missing two games — drew a six-pitch walk.
And yet, Cameron kept the Royals in the game. He finished with four scoreless innings before the KC bullpen took over in the sixth.
Cameron now sports a 3.03 ERA, third-lowest by a rookie in Royals history.
“You know, that right there speaks volumes,” Royals closer Carlos Estévez said. “Whatever happened a few games is back there and let’s just turn the page and keep attacking.
“I love what we did right there. We gave up three in the first inning and then Cameron locked it down. It was all the way through. The guys chipped away and they got the runs we needed.”
Homers reheat Royals’ cold offense
The Royals’ offense has hit another rough patch. And inconsistent run production is a recurring theme this season.
The Royals logged five hits against the Angels on Thursday. Four were solo homers — from Witt, Adam Frazier, Vinnie Pasquantino and Salvador Perez.
“I think everybody (did their part),” Perez said. “(Adam) Frazier, Vinnie (Pasquantino), myself and Junior (Witt) tried to get the lead right there. It’s kind of crazy, four homers, but it was part of the game.”
Frazier recorded his 1,000th career hit in style. He belted a solo homer off Angels starter Kyle Hendricks in the second inning.
Hendricks left an 84.9 mph sinker over the plate and Frazier didn’t miss it. He drove the baseball into the right-field bullpen to put the Royals on the scoreboard.
“It was great to see him do that,” Witt said.
Later, Vinnie Pasquantino hit his 29th home run of the season. And Perez’s blast tied the game in the seventh.
Perez is now just three homers shy of 300 for his illustrious career. Only seven primary catchers have eclipsed 300 or more homers in MLB history.
“It’s kind of taking it one step at a time, one pitch at a time and just kind of letting those hits happen,” Witt said. “And then after that it goes on.”
Witt finished Thursday’s series finale with the biggest hit of the night as the Royals improved to 71-69.
What’s next: The Royals continue their homestand against the Minnesota Twins on Friday evening. Right-hander Michael Wacha will start for KC on Friday. He allowed four earned runs in 4 2/3 innings in his last start at home.
This story was originally published September 4, 2025 at 9:09 PM.
