ANAHEIM, Calif. – The Los Angeles Angels spotted the Kansas City Royals a four-run lead, then mounted a comeback that was derailed when Bobby Abreu was thrown out at the plate.

Abreu was waved home by third base coach Dino Ebel on a single to left field by Erick Aybar with one out in the sixth inning and two runs in, but Alex Gordon made a perfect one-hop throw to Brayan Pena for the second out.

Mark Trumbo ended the inning with a popup, and the Angels got only one more hit the rest of the way in a 4-2 to the Kansas City Royals on Friday night.

“Dino’s got terrific judgment out there,” manager Mike Scioscia said after the Angels’ season-high sixth straight loss. “As Bobby rounded third I don’t think he thought he would be able to score and he slowed down a bit. It obviously ended up being a play that hurt us. But believe me, I trust Dino’s judgment. He’s as good as there is down there.”

The clutch play helped Jeff Francis (3-6) win his first road game of the season. The left-hander went 6 1-3 innings in his third start against the Angels this season, allowing two runs and eight hits en route to his first road victory since beating Florida on July 20, 2010, while pitching for Colorado.

“That throw home was a game-changer,” Francis said. “It swung a lot of momentum. I got the next guy out and it’s still 4-2.”

Ervin Santana (3-6) allowed four runs, seven hits and a season-high five walks over seven innings. He struck out five. Two of the runs came on homers by Melky Cabrera and Billy Butler. The right-hander has given up two home runs in each of his last three starts, and five of his last seven.

The switch-hitting Cabrera, who came in 2 for 14 lifetime against Santana, drove an 0-2 pitch to right field for his ninth homer with one out in the first. Jeff Francoeur grounded into an inning-ending double play with the bases loaded in the third, but the Royals made it 2-0 in the fourth when Butler drove Santana’s first pitch of the inning to left for his sixth home run.

“I think there were a couple pitches he’d want back,” Scioscia said. “The 0-2 pitch to Cabrera early was right in his wheelhouse. Butler jumped on a fastball early and hit it out of the park.”

The Royals have won consecutive games for the first time since May 19-20, and have clinched a season series from the Angels for only the second time in the last 15 years after taking five of seven in Kansas City.

Francis held the Angels to just two singles through five innings. But in the sixth, he gave up an RBI double by Howie Kendrick and a run-scoring single by Abreu — who entered that at-bat 0 for 14 against Francis with eight strikeouts.

Greg Holland retired all five batters he faced after relieving Francis. Joakim Soria pitched a perfect ninth for his ninth save in 14 attempts and second in two nights after returning to the closer role.

Kansas City third baseman Mike Moustakas, the second overall pick in the 2007 draft behind Tampa Bay Rays All-Star left-hander David Price, was 1 for 3 with a walk in his major league debut after his contract was purchased from Triple-A Omaha. The 22-year-old Los Angeles native was drafted out of Chatsworth High School in the San Fernando Valley.

He got his first big league hit in the sixth, a broken-bat single to right field, and scored on Alcides Escobar’s run-scoring double before Chris Getz added an RBI single.

Trailing 2-0, the Angels threatened in the fourth when Torii Hunter led off with a single, advanced on a deep flyball by Howie Kendrick and took third on Abreu’s groundout. Before Vernon Wells came up, Hunter had a brief conversation with Moustakas.

“When he got to third base, he congratulated me on being up here and later congratulated me on getting my first hit,” Moustakas said with a huge grin. “I mean, it was unreal. I’ve heard a lot of things about Torii Hunter and about how great of a person he is, and everything’s true. He’s a first-class guy all the way.”

NOTES: Scioscia, second among active managers behind Tony La Russa with 1,847 regular-season games, gave kudos to the St. Louis Cardinals’ skipper on the day La Russa joined Connie Mack as the only managers or coaches in American professional sports history to reach 5,000 games. “That’s quite an accomplishment,” Scioscia said. “Tony’s done more than survive. He’s excelled in every situation he’s been in, and the depth of his knowledge of people in this game is remarkable. The passion he’s had to do it for as long as he has and as well as he has takes a special person, and the fire is burning in his belly as well as it ever has.” … Four of Butler’s seven career hits against Santana have been home runs. The Royals have hit 11 homers this season against the Angels, including game-ending drives — by Butler (June 1), Kila Ka’aihue (April 1) and Matt Treanor (April 3).

(Sports Network) – Despite a solid outing, Ervin Santana was the pitcher of
record when the Los Angeles Angels’ season-worst five-game losing streak
began. The starter gets a chance to end the drought tonight but will also need
the offense to get going in the first of three straight games against the
Kansas City Royals in Anaheim.

Santana got the start on Saturday versus the Yankees and pitched well,
allowing three runs on seven hits and three walks over seven innings. However,
he was on the wrong end of a 3-2 decision that began Los Angeles’ current
slide.

The Angels have been outscored 21-10 over their losing streak and haven’t
scored more than three runs in eight straight games, going 1-7 in that span.

That may force Santana to be on top of his game tonight, somewhere he wasn’t
at when he faced the Royals on May 30. The right-hander gave up six runs on
seven hits, four walks and two homers in six innings of that game, but that
outing also marked the last offensive surge for Los Angeles, which took
Santana off the hook in a 10-8 win.

Santana, 28, is 3-5 with a 4.30 earned run average in 13 starts this season
and 5-4 with a 4.77 ERA in his career when facing the Royals.

Los Angeles plays the third and final series of a nine-game homestand and is
fresh off getting swept in three games by Tampa Bay. Bobby Abreu did his best
to get the Angels in the win column in Wednesday’s finale, ripping a three-run
double in the eighth inning that led to extra innings, but the Rays scored the
winning run in the 10th inning on a squeeze bunt in a 4-3 game.

Abreu nearly homered in the bottom of the extra frame, but fell short of
extending the game.

“The whole night was a little frustrating. All you can do is keep your team in
the game,” said starter Jered Weaver, who worked 7 2/3 innings and surrendered
three runs on six hits. “It’s a tough loss. It was a tough series.”

Given their current state, the Angels may not be too happy to see Royals
starter Jeff Francis again. The veteran southpaw defeated Los Angeles on May
31, allowing three runs over seven innings to improve to 1-0 with a 3.00 ERA
in four career starts against the Angels. That also includes a no-decision on
April 1 despite seven innings of one-run ball.

Francis did have a two-decision win streak end on Sunday with a loss to the
Twins, getting charged with four runs on six hits and two walks over seven
innings of a 6-0 setback. It marked the fourth time in five starts that the
30-year-old pitched at least seven innings.

In 13 starts this year, Francis is 2-6 with a 4.52 ERA and is still winless on
the road in 2011, going 0-3 with a 6.75 ERA in five outings.

The Royals start up a nine-game road trip tonight after going just 4-7 on an
extended homestand. Kansas City wrapped the residency with a four-game set
against Toronto, earning a split of the series with yesterday’s 3-2 victory.

Jeff Francoeur hit a two-run single as part of a three-run third inning, with
Eric Hosmer adding an RBI hit in the frame. The pitching took over from there
as starter Luke Hochevar hurled seven innings of two-run ball, Aaron Crow
pitched a scoreless eighth and Joakim Soria got out of bases-loaded jam in the
ninth inning to record his first save since May 20.

Soria, who picked up his eighth save of the season, had blown his past three
save chances.

“We have a knack of keeping it real interesting,” Royals manager Ned Yost
said. “We did that just about all day today. Jack [Soria] did it. Crow did it.
Luke did it on occasion. But they got the job done and that’s what is
important.

“It was good to get that monkey off Jack’s back to get that first save after
all that mess he’s been through and let him get on a good roll.”

After picking up their second victory in eight games, the Royals made a bold
roster move after the game by recalling third base prospect Mike Moustakas
from Triple-A Omaha. His call-up puts two of Kansas City’s top young players
in its major league diamond along with Hosmer.

“He’s going to come into the lineup just like I did and do his role and not
try to do too much,” Hosmer told the Royals’ website of Moustakas. “He’s going
to fit in perfectly with this team.”

Moustakas, the second overall pick of the 2007 draft, hit .287 in 55 games at
Triple A this season with 10 homers and 44 RBI.

To make room for Moustakas, the Royals optioned Mike Aviles to Omaha, while
Wilson Betemit is now expected to shift from third base to a backup role.

The Royals and Angels are meeting in Anaheim for the first time this season,
with Kansas City haven taken five of seven at home versus the club already
this year.

The Angels, though, have still won 18 of the past 27 meetings.

The Sports Network

LOS ANGELES — A charter flight carrying members of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim home from an away game made an emergency landing at Los Angeles International Airport Wednesday after reporting a mechanical problem, officials said.

Airport spokeswoman Katherine Alvarado said the Delta Air Lines Inc. plane with some 60 people aboard landed shortly after 9 p.m.

TV footage showed passengers calmly exiting the plane onto the tarmac as fire trucks waited nearby.

“Nothing like an emergency landing at LAX to scare the crap out of us…good to be home,” Angels TV announcer Victor Rojas posted in an online tweet as the plane landed.

Team spokesman Tim Mead told KCAL-TV that the team usually lands at an Orange County’s John Wayne airport, but was redirected due to what the pilot had referred to as possible hydraulic problems.

Mead said the club was returning from Kansas City, where they lost to the Royals earlier Wednesday 2-0.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A charter flight carrying members of the Los Angeles Angels has made an emergency landing at Los Angeles International Airport.

An airport spokeswoman says the Delta Air Lines Inc. plane had experienced some type of mechanical problem before it landed Wednesday shortly after 9 p.m.

Angels spokesman Tim Mead tells KCAL-TV that the team usually lands at Orange County’s John Wayne airport, but was redirected because of what the pilot had referred to as possible hydraulic problems.

Mead says the club was returning from Kansas City, where they lost to the Royals earlier Wednesday 2-0. Alvarado says there were 60 people aboard the flight.

Associated Press

LOS ANGELES, Calif. —
A charter flight carrying members of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim home from an away game made an emergency landing at Los Angeles International Airport Wednesday after reporting a mechanical problem, officials said.

Airport spokeswoman Katherine Alvarado said the Delta Air Lines Inc. plane with some 60 people aboard landed shortly after 9 p.m.

TV footage showed passengers calmly exiting the plane onto the tarmac as fire trucks waited nearby.

“Nothing like an emergency landing at LAX to scare the crap out of us…good to be home,” Angels TV announcer Victor Rojas posted in an online tweet as the plane landed.

Team spokesman Tim Mead told KCAL-TV that the team usually lands at an Orange County’s John Wayne airport, but was redirected due to what the pilot had referred to as possible hydraulic problems.

Mead said the club was returning from Kansas City, where they lost to the Royals earlier Wednesday 2-0.

Delta did not immediately respond to a telephone message left by The Associated Press after business hours.

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

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Billy Butler hit a game-winning, two-run homer in the ninth inning Wednesday to give the Kansas City Royals a 2-0 victory over the Los Angeles Angels.

Jeff Francoeur singled with one out before Butler connected off Scott Downs (3-2). The ball hit behind the outfield padding in left-center field and bounced back into play, and the umpires initially ruled it a double before video showed it to be a home run.

Tim Collins (3-2), the fifth Royals pitcher, pitched 1 1-3 flawless innings for the win.

Felipe Paulino, who made his first start of the season after 19 relief appearances, held the Angels to four singles over five innings, striking out four without an issuing a walk.

The Royals acquired Paulino last week from the Colorado Rockies, who had designated him for assignment. Paulino has thrown 9 1-3 scoreless innings and given up five hits, while striking out seven and walking none in his first two appearances with Kansas City.

Paulino worked out of a bases-loaded jam with none out in the third after infield singles by Alexi Amarista and Erick Aybar and Mike Aviles’ fielding error. Paulino struck out Bobby Abreu and coaxed Torii Hunter to ground into a double play.

Angels rookie Tyler Chatwood went 7 2-3 innings and gave up five singles. The Royals did not get a runner past second base off Chatwood before the eighth.

Greg Holland, who replaced Paulino, worked 2 2-3 scoreless innings and struck out six for Kansas City. The Angels loaded the bases in the eighth when the Royals used four pitchers, but shortstop Alcides Escobar made a diving stop to his right of Alberto Callaspo’s sharp grounder on the edge of the outfield grass and threw him out at first to end the inning.

The Angels are hitting .167 (5 for 30) with the bases loaded.

NOTES: Angels 2B Howie Kendrick (right hamstring tightness) will be activated Saturday. … Royals RHP Kyle Davies (rotator cuff inflammation) threw off the mound Wednesday. … Angels 1B Kendry Morales (left ankle surgery) had his splint removed Wednesday and replaced with a hard cast. … OF Vernon Wells (strained right groin) is taking batting practice and will go through a full workout Friday at Anaheim. He will be evaluated by the medical staff and could begin a minor league rehab assignment this weekend. “He needs to get enough swings to get his torso ready before he can go out, but we expect he’ll be ready for rehab shortly,” Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. “It’s conditional on how he feels.”