KANSAS CITY, Mo. _ The baseball soared into the evening twilight, a missile launched at 104 mph, and moments later, Mike Moustakas patted the black patch on his right shoulder.
As Kauffman Stadium came to its feet, Moustakas paid tribute to Yordano Ventura and pointed up toward the sky. As he crossed home plate, completing his fourth home-run trot of this young season, the Royals were on their way to a total dismantling of the Los Angeles Angels, a 7-1 victory on Friday night.
The blast came on a 97-mph fastball from Angels starter JC Ramirez in the bottom of the first inning. It erased a 1-0 deficit and set the tone for the evening as the Royals crafted their most complete performance of the year.
Moustakas maintained his April power surge, stirring up optimism as he returns from a season-ending knee injury from last year. Salvador Perez launched his league-leading fifth homer as the offense emerged from an early-season lull. The Royals opened the night with five runs in the first three innings. The run support was sufficient for starter Danny Duffy, who surrendered one run in seven innings.
Duffy improved to 2-1 on the season and lowered his ERA to 1.80 after three starts, requiring 103 pitches to navigate Friday evening. An RBI single in the top of the first from reigning MVP Mike Trout loomed as the only blemish.
Duffy spent the rest of the night offering a glimpse of his dominating form, allowing just one hit across his final six innings. He struck out six while giving up three hits. He backed up Jason Vargas' superb outing on Thursday, pushing the Royals to 4-6 after their second consecutive victory.
The night, though, began with another blast from Moustakas, a moment that offered a touch of symmetry, for it was against these Angels last April that Moustakas' 2016 season first began to derail off the tracks.
In his first 19 games, he had clubbed seven homers, posting the hottest start of his career. Moustakas looked like an All-Star. Steve Balboni's club record of 36 homers appeared in play. It was early, of course. But then Moustakas fractured his thumb while applying a tag on April 26 in Anaheim against the Angels. He attempted to play through the pain, but the injury stole his power. He landed on the 15-day disabled list, and on his second day back in May, he collided with Alex Gordon in Chicago and shredded a ligament in his knee.
A once promising season was gone. Moustakas is trying to make up for lost time in 2017. He homered on Opening Day in Minnesota. In 10 games, he has cranked four home runs. If not for Perez and Houston's George Springer, he would be atop the American League leader board in the category. On Friday, he added a walk to the ledger, scoring two runs while recording two RBIs.
The night will inspire optimism. On Thursday, the Royals avoided a sweep at the hands of the A's while scoring just three runs. On Friday, they more than doubled their season scoring average and tied their highest scoring output of the year.
Lorenzo Cain offered another multi-hit game, raising his average to .364. Brandon Moss added his second hit of the year in the eighth against Angels reliever Mike Morin. Eric Hosmer, mired in an April skid of sorts, delivered a single to right in the eighth and made a tremendous scoop on a throw from Alcides Escobar to end the seventh inning.
It wasn't the only defensive highlight. Raul Mondesi sprinted into shallow center field and stole a hit from Yunel Escobar in the top of the eighth. Mondesi laid out and executed a diving grab. Yunel Escobar violently spiked his helmet in disgust.
Perhaps the play captured the feeling for both teams. For one night, the Royals had their winning formula on display.
