Angels Late-Game Woes Prove Costly Against Kansas City
The Los Angeles Angels let another one slip away on Thursday night, falling 9-4 to the Kansas City Royals in the penultimate series of the season at Angel Stadium. A three-run double by Salvador Perez in the top of the ninth inning served as the dagger, giving the Royals catcher his 100th RBI of the season and putting the game out of reach. Despite three home runs from Jo Adell, Nolan Schanuel, and Mike Trout, the Halo’s 13 strikeouts and continued pitching woes proved too much to overcome. With the defeat, the Angels have dropped to 71-87 on the year, leaving them on the verge of back-to-back 100-loss seasons for the second time in franchise history.
Mitch Farris, making his final start of the year, again struggled to find rhythm. The rookie left-hander surrendered a two-run homer to Vinne Paquantino in the first inning and never truly recovered, allowing four runs in his five innings on the mound. It could have been a chance for an audition for the 2026 roster, but instead, it marked his third straight loss and another reminder of the instability of the Angels’ rotation. Although he showed flashes of command at times in the early going, Kansas City hitters made the 24-year-old work and got to the bullpen relatively early.
The Angels’ bats were nearly the opposite. Of course, besides the longball by four of the nine batters in the lineup, the Halos were outmatched at the plate. Adell kicked the scoring off with a solo blast in the second inning, and Schanuel followed with another solo shot in the sixth. Trout added to his historic home run resume, launching his 401st career homer in the eighth to bring the Angels within a run. Royals starter Michael Lorenzen was otherwise in control, striking out nine over six innings and limiting the Halos to just five hits.
The bullpen couldn’t keep it close late. Connor Brogdon limited the damage by putting up a scoreless sixth and seventh innings; Ryan Zeferjahn yielded a run in the eighth. Then came Sam Bachman in the ninth. Bachman unraveled, loading the bases after two hits and a walk before Perez’s bases-clearing double broke the game open. The Angels went down quietly in the bottom half, closing out a frustrating series in fitting fashion for the Halos.
The Angels now turn to the final chapter of the 2025 season, facing the Houston Astros for one final series of the year in Anaheim. Houston enters the weekend fighting for their playoff life, needing to sweep the Angels for a chance at October. The Angels' role this weekend is to play spoiler against an AL West rival and end the 2025 season on a high note. Ending a rival’s chances at the postseason could give the team and fans some measure of satisfaction even after a disappointing year, and maybe some motivation for 2026.
