Angels blow late lead, fall to Royals in extra innings

Jeff Fletcher, The Orange County Register on Apr 26, 2026

Published in Baseball

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KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A game that started out like it would be a stress-free victory ended up as an agonizing loss.

After taking a six-run lead in the second inning, the Los Angeles Angels blew a three-run lead in the ninth and then a one-run lead in the 10th, eventually losing 11-9 to the Kansas City Royals on a rainy Sunday.

Drew Pomeranz gave up a two-run homer to Jac Caglianone in the ninth and then Joey Lucchesi gave up a three-run homer to Lane Thomas with two outs in the 10th.

The Angels (12-17) were swept in Kansas City. They have lost seven of their last eight games, none of them as troubling as this one.

The Angels scored six runs in the first two innings and were still holding a three-run lead when they took the field in the bottom of the ninth.

Left-hander Brett Suter recorded the first two outs, but neither he nor Pomeranz could get the third before the Royals tied the game.

Suter gave up a triple to Vinnie Pasquantino and then a single to Salvador Perez.

Pomeranz entered and gave up a two-run homer to Jac Caglianone. The ball curled just inside the right-field pole.

It marked the third time this month that the Angels had blown a ninth-inning lead. The pitcher responsible for the first two — right-hander Jordan Romano — was designated for assignment earlier on Sunday.

After the Angels got their automatic runner home on a passed ball in the top of the inning, Lucchesi picked up the first two outs in the bottom of the inning without giving up a run.

He then walked Maikel Garcia, and he fell behind, 3-and-1, before giving up the homer to Thomas.

In this game, the bullpen inherited a 6-3 lead when starter Reid Detmers was chased out of the game with no outs in the sixth. Right-handers Sam Bachman and Ryan Zeferjahn and Suter had gotten the game almost to the finish line before Pomeranz let it get away.

The Angels were able to overcome the bullpen’s problems because an offense that had been cold lately finally woke up.

The Angels totaled 16 hits. Zach Neto and Josh Lowe each had three, and Jorge Soler, Yoán Moncada and Adam Frazier contributed two apiece. Every starter had a hit.

Neto led off the game with a hit. Mike Trout then followed with a two-run homer that barely cleared the left-field fence, putting the Angels up 2-0 just three pitches into the game.

It was Trout’s ninth homer of the season. He also became the Angels’ all-time leader with his 797th extra-base hit.

Lowe, Travis d’Arnaud and Frazier — the bottom three hitters in the order — started the second inning with three straight hits. Neto drove in two runs with a double and Soler knocked in another, putting the Angels up 6-0.

Starter Reid Detmers was breezing at that point, retiring all nine Royals hitters in the first three innings, on just 41 pitches.

With a six-run lead, it seemed the only issue facing Detmers was whether he’d be able to get through the Royals quickly enough to finish five innings — making the game official — before the rain came.

However, the rain didn’t come hard enough to stop the game, and the Royals got better looks at Detmers the second time.

Detmers gave up a run in the fifth, and then he couldn’t get an out in the sixth, when the Royals started their third time through the order.

Witt hit a two-run homer, and then Detmers issued his first walk of the day to Pasquantino, ending his day and leaving the bullpen four innings with a three-run lead.

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