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(AP) — Torii Hunter’s second home run, atwo-run shot off Joakim Soria in the ninth, powered the Los Angeles Angels to a come-from-behind 10-8 victory over the Kansas City Royals on Monday.

Hunter, who had a solo home run off Everett Teaford in the seventh, drove in the 1,000th run of his career with the long drive that put the Angels on top 9-8. For Soria (3-3), a two-time All-Star, it was his fifth blown save in 12 opportunities and
second in two days.

Last year he had three blown saves in 46 opportunities.

The Angels added a run on an RBI fielder’s choice by Mark Trumbo.

Trumbo and Peter Bourjos hit solo home runs in the eighth off Louis Coleman to bring the Angels to within a run.

(Copyright ©2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

By BOB DUTTON

The Kansas City Star

May 30, 2011

Torii Hunter’s second home run, a two-run shot off Joakim Soria in the ninth, powered the Los Angeles Angels to a come-from-behind 10-8 victory over the Kansas City Royals on Monday.

Hunter, who had a solo home run off Everett Teaford in the
seventh, drove in the 1,000th run of his career with the long drive
that put the Angels on top 9-8. For Soria (3-3), a two-time
All-Star, it was his fifth blown save in 12 opportunities and
second in two days.

Last year he had three blown saves in 46 opportunities. The
Angels added a run on an RBI fielder’s choice by Mark Trumbo.
Trumbo and Peter Bourjos hit solo home runs in the eighth off
Louis Coleman to bring the Angels to within a run.

CBSSports.com wire reports
May 30, 2011

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — In the 12th season of Torii Hunter’s productive career, significant milestones are beginning to appear.

The four-time All-Star hit two home runs Monday, including a two-run shot off struggling closer Joakim Soria in the ninth, and powered the Los Angeles Angels past Kansas City 10-8. With the go-ahead drive, the 35-year-old outfielder rang up career RBI No. 1,000.

“I had no idea,” he said with a big grin. “They said, ‘You got 1,000.’ I said, ‘Damn! I’m old!’ But it’s an honor. It shows I stayed healthy and I did what I had to do.”

Erasing a five-run deficit for the second time since Friday, the Angels got solo home runs by Mark Trumbo and Peter Bourjos in the eighth off Louis Coleman to get within one run. Then Bobby Abreu, who was 4 for 5 with two runs scored and two RBI, singled ahead of Hunter’s game-winning, milestone drive.

“That’s all we need. We smell blood from there,” Hunter said.

For Soria (3-3), a two-time All-Star, it was his fifth blown save in 12 opportunities and second in two days and knocked him, at least temporarily, out of a job. Manager Ned Yost, who’s been insisting there was nothing wrong with Soria, said after the game that rookie Aaron Crow would probably take over as closer.

Soria, who also blew a save in Sunday’s loss at Texas, saw his ERA balloon to 6.55.

“I think we’ve gotten to a point where we’ll back Jack off,” said Yost. “We’ll give him a break. He’s pitched back-to-back days. Jack is definitely off, but he’s not off by a whole lot. I think he’s close to getting it back, but just not quite.”

Last year Soria had three blown saves in 46 opportunities.

“I think it’s the right way to do it,” he said. “I try to build up, try to work hard and I try to work back on my confidence and try to be the one that I was before.”

The Angels added a run in the ninth on an RBI fielder’s choice by Trumbo.

Royals rookie Eric Hosmer homered, doubled and drove in four runs to help the Royals seize a 6-1 lead over Ervin Santana after two innings.

Speaking of milestones, Abreu had two doubles, lifting his career total to 537. The day before, he had passed Lou Gehrig for 32nd on the all-time doubles list.

The Royals took a 3-0 lead on Santana’s first six pitches. Alex Gordon homered on his first pitch, then Melky Cabrera took a four-pitch walk before Hosmer slammed Santana’s first delivery to him over the wall in right field.

In the second, Santana walked Chris Getz and Gordon and hit Alcides Escobar, loading the bases. Hosmer then lined a two-run double off the wall in right, tying the career high with four RBI which he’d set three days earlier in Texas. Gordon went to third on the play and made it 6-1 on Jeff Francoeur’s sacrifice fly.

Kevin Jepsen (1-2) went 1 1/3 innings for the win. Fernando Rodney pitched the ninth for his second save in five opportunities.

The Royals scored two in the seventh and went ahead 8-5 on Wilson Betemit’s RBI triple and Getz’ RBI single.

Royals starter Luke Hochevar, winless since May 1, left after five innings with a 6-4 lead, allowing four runs on seven hits. Santana settled down after the second, going six innings and allowing six runs on seven hits.

Hochevar hit Izturis with his first pitch and fell behind 1-0 on Abreu’s RBI single before the Royals jumped on Santana for three in the first and three in the second.

Besides his milestone RBI, Hunter probably made three new friends. The three youngsters who caught his milestone homer were brought to meet the Angels star and exchange their souvenir.

“They were triplets, about 7, 8 or 9, something like that,” said Hunter, who had a solo home run in the seventh. “I took pictures with them, gave them hugs, and said, ‘Thank you. It’s a special thing for me.’ I don’t know if my autograph will mean anything, but that ball meant a lot to me and I appreciate them coming down and giving it to me.”

Notes

• It was the Royals’ fifth leadoff home run against the Angels.
• When he walked Gordon in the second inning and loaded the bases, Santana had thrown 42 pitches and recorded three outs.
• Last Memorial Day, the same teams and pitchers faced off, with Santana beating Hochevar 7-1.
• This was the first of a season-long 11-game home stand for KC.
• Just ahead of Abreu on the all-time doubles list is Todd Helton with 538.

After blowing three saves in a week, Joakim Soria has lost his job as Kansas City’s closer.
Soria, who has been the Royals’ closer since halfway through his rookie season in 2007, allowed three runs and four hits, including a two-run homer by Torii Hunter, in a 10-8 loss to the Los Angeles Angels on Monday.
Manager Ned Yost has been standing by Soria, but after his latest debacle, said he would use rookie Aaron Crow, who has a 1.33 ERA in 22 appearances, as his closer “for the time being.”
“We’ve gotten to a point where we’ll back Jack off,” Yost said. “We’ll give him a break, with a sense of getting him back to the closer’s role, but getting him in situations where maybe he can throw multiple-innings in less pressure situations.
“He had a rough road trip. I wanted to give him one more opportunity. I take full responsibility. That was my decision. That’s not Jack’s fault. That’s my fault. I’m the manager and make those pitching decisions. I wanted to give Jack another opportunity to see if he could go out and get over the hump.”
Soria, who blew a save Sunday at Texas, has one save in five opportunities in May. He failed to hold an 8-7 lead.
“It gets to a point now where if I continue to try to do that, it gets detrimental to not only our team, but to Jack, too,” Yost said. “It’s time to step up and make a change and let him take a step back, get himself together and then take over that closer’s role sometime in the near future.”
Soria (3-3) saved 43 games in 46 opportunities last season and has been an All-Star two of the past three years. He has a 6.55 ERA after blowing five saves in 12 opportunities this season. He had never blown more than three saves in any previous year.
“It’s the right time to do it,” Soria said. “Where I close games, I don’t want to be part of this losing streak. The team is playing really good and they need a man that can go out after them. Right now, obviously, I don’t’ want to lose games. I give my 100 percent every time, but it’s not as good as we want.
“I think it’s the right way to do it. I try to build up, try to work hard and I try to work back on my confidence and try to be the one that I was before. I know I can do this. I’m the type of person who never gives up. This is not a give up. This is the time to take a break. And try to figure out what’s going on.”
Hunter, who had a solo home run off Everett Teaford in the seventh, drove in the 1,000th run of his career with the long drive that put the Angels on top 9-8. The Angels added a run on an RBI fielder’s choice by Mark Trumbo.
Trumbo and Peter Bourjos hit solo home runs in the eighth off Louis Coleman to bring the Angels within a run.
Rookie Eric Hosmer homered, doubled and drove in four runs to help the Royals take a 6-1 lead over Ervin Santana after two innings.
Bobby Abreu, one day after passing Lou Gehrig for 32nd on the all-time doubles list, hit two more, lifting his career total to 537. He was 4 for 5 with two RBIs and two runs scored, singling just ahead of Hunter’s ninth-inning home run.
Hunter declined to say if he noticed any difference in Soria.
“I think he’s still good,” he said. “He’s still sneaky, still deceptive.”
The Royals took a 3-0 lead on Santana’s first six pitches. Alex Gordon homered on his first pitch, then Melky Cabrera took a four-pitch walk before Hosmer slammed Santana’s first delivery over the wall in right.
In the second, Santana walked Chris Getz and Gordon and hit Alcides Escobar, loading the bases. Hosmer lined a two-run double off the wall in right, tying the career high with four RBIs which he had set three days earlier in Texas. Gordon went to third on the play and made it 6-1 on Jeff Francoeur’s sacrifice fly.
Kevin Jepsen (1-2) went 1 1-3 innings for the win. Fernando Rodney pitched the ninth for his second save in five opportunities.
The Royals scored two in the seventh and went ahead 8-5 on Wilson Betemit’s RBI triple and Getz’ RBI single.
Royals starter Luke Hochevar, winless since May 1, left after five innings with a 6-4 lead, allowing four runs and seven hits. Santana settled down after the second, going six innings and allowing six runs and seven hits.
Hochevar hit Macier Izturis with his first pitch and fell behind 1-0 on Abreu’s RBI single before the Royals jumped on Santana for three in the first and three in the second.
In the third Hochevar gave up an RBI double to Abreu and a run-scoring single to Alberto Callaspo.
NOTES: When he walked Gordon in the second inning and loaded the bases, Santana had thrown 42 pitches and recorded three outs. … Last Memorial Day, the same teams and pitchers faced off, with Santana beating Hochevar 7-1. … This was the first of a season-long 11-game homestand for KC. … Just ahead of Abreu on the all-time doubles list is Todd Helton with 538.

KANSAS CITY, Mo., May 30 (UPI) — Torii Hunter blasted a go-ahead, two-run homer in the ninth inning Monday and the Los Angeles Angels rallied for a 10-8 victory over Kansas City.

Trailing 8-5 after seven innings, the Angels pounded three home runs in the final two frames to stun the Royals and pull out a win in the first of a three-game series.

Solo shots by Mark Trumbo and Peter Bourjos off Louis Coleman drew the Angels to within a run in the eighth. Then in the ninth, Bobby Abreu collected a one-out single off Joakim Soria (3-3) and Hunter followed with his decisive clout to left.

It was Soria’s third blown save in seven games and the team announced after the game the former all-star had been replaced by Aaron Crow as the Royals’ closer.

Los Angeles added an insurance run on Wilson Betemit’s error and Fernando Rodney tossed a 1-2-3 bottom of the ninth to secure the comeback victory.

Kevin Jepsen (1-2) earned the victory with 1 1/3 innings of scoreless relief.

Eric Hosmer hit a two-run homer and finished with four RBI for Kansas City.