José Quijada crumbles in the ninth as Angels blow lead and fall to Royals

The Angels had played an up-and-down game, the offense doing what it was designed to do, but the pitching not being able to hold leads.

In the top of the ninth inning Saturday, with the Angels leading by two, reliever José Quijada gave up five earned runs on two hits, two walks and two hit batters. He was pulled after being unable to get the last out of the inning, but the damage had already been done.

The Angels, who held a two-run lead before the ninth inning, went on to lose to the Kansas City Royals 11-8 before an announced crowd of 44,148 at Angel Stadium.

It was a much different scene earlier.

The day started with Mike Trout collecting his ninth Silver Slugger award. He smiled for cameras, was serenaded by a chorus of cheers and triumphantly walked back with his latest piece of hardware.

Not too long after that, Trout reminded the Angel Stadium crowd why he’s been a perennial winner of the award. In the bottom of the fifth inning, Trout hit a towering two-run home run.

Earlier, Trout drove in the Angels first run with a single to score Matt Thaiss. Thaiss had reached on a single, ending his 0-for-14 streak.

Trout was not the only Angel to hit deep shots. Hunter Renfroe had his 18th career multi-home run game, hitting solo home runs in the fourth and sixth innings.

Renfroe’s first home run came with a scare as the baseball hit a young fan in the first row of seats by the base of the left-field foul pole. The fan appeared OK and he was given what appeared to be an ice pack and a towel for the side of his face, where the ball hit him.

Hunter Renfroe runs the bases after hitting a home run for the Angels in the sixth inning Saturday.

(Ashley Landis / Associated Press)

Thaiss — who had previously been in the limelight for two catchers interference calls in Boston — later hit a two-run blast, his first home run of the season, which allowed the Angels to pull ahead in the eighth inning.

The Angels had a one-run lead going into the sixth inning after the RBIs from Renfroe and Trout, but let it slip away.

Angels starting pitcher Tyler Anderson was in trouble throughout the game. His start had already included three earned runs, including a fourth inning in which he gave up three consecutive extra-base hits.

Before the game, manager Phil Nevin said that Anderson needed to improve on some precision.

“He’s got to be just that: very precise, in which he has been throughout his career,” Nevin said. “I’m not worried about it in the least bit.”

In the sixth inning, Anderson loaded the bases after hitting a batter and giving up consecutive singles. He was pulled after getting one out and replaced by reliever Andrew Wantz, but all three of those runners scored.

Anderson finished his night having pitched deeper into a game than he had in his last two starts. His final line over 5 1/3 innings included seven hits, six runs, five earned runs, one strikeout and the one hit batter.

The Angels made 6-6 in the bottom of the sixth after Renfroe’s second homer and then a stroke of luck — it initially looked like Zach Neto popped out to end the inning, but a balk called on Royals reliever Carlos Hernandez gave Neto another shot.

Neto then hit an RBI single to tie the score. Thaiss then followed with his two-run home run to give the Angels a two-run lead before the Royals rallied.

MJ Melendez was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded as the Royals scored five times in the ninth inning. Hunter Dozier had three hits and three RBIs, including a two-run single in the ninth that provided some insurance for the Royals. Matt Duffy also had three hits.