Royals take penultimate series vs. Angels. Will KC finish with a winning record?
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Michael Lorenzen struck out nine over 5 ⅔ innings to beat former team, Angels.
- Vinnie Pasquantino hit two-run homer and drove in three to lead Royals' offense.
- Royals improved to 80-79 and aim for winning season with final series vs. A's.
Kansas City Royals starting pitcher Michael Lorenzen saved his best effort for his final appearance of the 2025 season. Facing his former team, Lorenzen carved up the Los Angeles Angels in a 9-4 victory at Angel Stadium.
And he did it with relative ease.
Lorenzen tied a career-high with nine strikeouts. The veteran right-hander — who grew up in Anaheim — had sharp command of his pitches and used it to his advantage throughout the night.
“It’s always fun to come back,” Lorenzen said. “They lit me up quite a bit last year when I came back. So that wasn’t fun. Nice to be able to have a good one here against them. Yeah, it feels good.”
In the first inning, Lorenzen struck out the side. He got Los Angeles sluggers Mike Trout and Yoan Moncada looking with a pair of off-speed pitches to end the frame. He navigated around trouble throughout his appearance, limiting the Angels to just two runs.
A pair of solo homers were the lone damage. Angels outfielder Jo Adell hit his 37th, a shot that barely got over center fielder Mike Yastrzemski’s glove. In the sixth inning, Nolan Schanuel also homered.
“We made a little mechanical adjustment going into this game,” Lorenzen said. “And it felt really good. It felt really in sync and connected.
“I was able to execute some good two-strike pitches and kind of get some more strikeouts that way. So, happy about that. Not happy about the homers. I’ve got to figure that out next year — how to not give up as many homers.”
Lorenzen pitched 5 2/3 innings. He earned his seventh victory of the year, throwing 54 of his 86 pitches for strikes. Per Baseball Savant, he registered 43 swings and 15 whiffs while surrendering five hits and no walks.
“I thought it was really good,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro said of Lorenzen’s outing. “He had a good fastball tonight. The velo wasn’t at the peak, but he located it. You saw him get his changeup to the right spots. He probably wants the breaking ball back for the homer to Adell. Overall, I thought it was really good. He was efficient.”
The Royals supplied Lorenzen with ample run support. First baseman Vinnie Pasquantino belted a two-run home run in the first inning off Angels left-handed starter Mitch Farris.
Pasquantino finished with three RBIs, giving him a career-high 111 this season. He is currently tied with Detroit Tigers outfielder Riley Greene for fifth-most in the majors.
“I think it was my first slider home run off a lefty this year,” Pasquantino said. “I know it’s been fastballs or changeups. It’s always good to get one off a lefty.”
The Royals scored another run in the fifth inning. Bobby Witt Jr. laced a double down the left-field line to extend the lead. Witt leads the majors with 46 doubles in 154 games this season.
Farris took the loss. He allowed four runs in five innings of work.
The Angels narrowed the gap late. In the eighth inning, three-time MVP Mike Trout belted a two-run homer off Royals reliever Steven Cruz. It was the 401st home run of Trout’s career. But the Royals wiggled out of late trouble with four late runs and secured the road win.
With the series victory, the Royals climbed back over .500 with a 80-79 record. Now, they will look to win two of three against the Athletics this weekend in West Sacramento, California, which would enable KC to finish with a winning record this season.
“We are just gong to play as hard as we can the last three days in Sacramento,” Royals captain Salvador Perez said, “and see what happens after the last game.”
Salvy reaches 100 RBIs
In the ninth inning, Perez gave the Royals a significant offensive boost.
He belted a three-run double off Angels reliever Sam Bachman to pad the Royals’ lead. The big hit gave Perez 100 RBIs this year — the third time he has reached that milestone in the regular season.
“It’s pretty good,” Perez said. “I think any player who is in the big leagues wants to reach 100 RBIs. You know, it’s one of the goals when the season starts. So yeah, I feel good. Feel better if we made it to the playoffs.”
Recently, Perez surpassed Royals Hall of Famer Hal McRae for second place on the club’s all-time RBIs list. He now trails only George Brett (1,596 RBIs).
Perez and Pasquantino have now both eclipsed 30 homers and 100 RBIs this season.
“I think it’s cool ...” Pasquantino said. “I think we wish we had done more. So when you look at the numbers on paper, you are happy about them. But I feel like there is more out there that we could’ve gotten and we didn’t this year, which sucks.
“You know, numbers wise, it’s pretty cool. Both of us will be pretty honest about how we feel like we could’ve done some more things.”
What’s next: The Royals begin their final series of the 2025 season on Friday against the Athletics. Left-handed rookie Noah Cameron (9-7, 2.90 ERA) will be KC’s starting pitcher at Sutter Health Park. The Athletics have not announced a starter.
This story was originally published September 25, 2025 at 11:26 PM.
