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Early offense propels Royals past Angels

Apr 17, 2008 - 6:13 AM ANAHEIM, California (Ticker) -- After waiting a few years for their young talent to fulfill their promise, the Kansas City Royals are finally reaping some rewards for their patience.

Billy Butler and Alex Gordon each had run-scoring singles while Gil Meche turned in his first strong start of the season, leading the Royals to a 3-2 victory over the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim on Wednesday.

Butler, who will turn 22 Friday, and Gordon, 24, each joined Kansas City in a full-time capacity last season after being selected by the team with high first-round picks in 2004 and 2005, respectively.

Both players were products of the many seasons of losing for the Royals, who have managed just two winning seasons over the last 13 years. Through 15 games this season, Butler and Gordon are hitting well over .300 and lead the team in RBI.

"They are a young and exciting team," Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. "They have some good veteran pitchers and are getting it done right now."

Meche (1-2) allowed two runs and six hits over six frames for his first win.

"Right now, our pitching is carrying us," Butler said. "One of these days, our offense will win a game."

The Royals generated most of their offense when Butler followed singles by Mark Grudzielanek and Mark Teahen with a soft single to right-center off Angels starter Jered Weaver to score the game's first run.

Two batters later, Gordon scored Teahen with a grounder that skipped through the right side of the infield to leave Kansas City with a 2-0 lead.

"We wanted to make him (Weaver) work and throw a lot of pitches early," Teahen said. "We went away from that later in the game and that's why he was able to settle down."

The Royals added a crucial insurance run in the second when Weaver (1-3) botched the catch as he attempted to cover first base on a grounder from Grudzielanek.

First baseman Casey Kotchman, pulled away from the bag on the play, threw to Weaver to record the second out of the inning but Weaver mishandled the throw. Joey Gathright, who advanced to third on the grounder, took advantage of the mishap to score.

"It was just one of those plays where I took my eye off the ball for a split second," Weaver said. "That ended up being the difference in the game."

Kotchman's two-run single in the fourth cut the deficit to 3-2, but the Angels could manage nothing more off Meche.

Three relievers tossed two scoreless innings to bridge the gap between Meche and closer Joakim Soria, who struck out two batters in a flawless ninth for his fifth save in as many chances.

"I kept us in the game and our bullpen came in and did a great job shutting their offense down for the final three innings," Meche said.

Gathright and Teahen added three hits apiece for the Royals, who are off to their best 15-game start (9-6) since they won 12 of their first 15 games during the 2003 season.

Torii Hunter had two hits and scored a run for the Angels, who lost their sixth straight game against Kansas City.