Kansas City Royals pitcher Brad Keller couldn’t stop the slide. The right-hander kept his club within striking distance up until the sixth inning, but the Los Angeles Angels got to him in that inning and the Royals offense never got going.
For the second night in a row, the Royals offense scratched out only one run as they fell to the Angels 6-1 in front of an announced 10,474 at Angels Stadium on Wednesday night.
The Angels completed a three-game series sweep and outscored the Royals 22-5.
The Royals (29-31) have now lost five in a row. They’ll continue their West Coast road trip with four games in Oakland starting on Thursday night.
Keller (6-5) allowed five runs on eight hits and four walks in 5 1/3 innings. He also struck out four. Two of the four walks came around to score.
The Angels (30-32) scored three runs against Keller in the sixth inning to give themselves breathing room in what had been a one-run game.
After giving up 16 earned runs in his first four starts (12 innings), Keller showed encouraging signs of progress in his next eight starts. He allowed 18 earned runs in those eight starts (43 2/3 innings). Prior to Wednesday, he hadn’t allowed more than three runs in any of his past six starts.
Keller entered the night having won four consecutive decisions. The Royals had won each of his previous five starts.
Royals leadoff hitter Whit Merrifield extended his hitting streak to 10 games.
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