Michael Lorenzen tossed seven shutout innings and MJ Melendez homered as the Kansas City Royals blanked the visiting Los Angeles Angels 3-0 on Wednesday evening.
Lorenzen (7-6) labored early as Los Angeles put multiple runners on base in each of the first three innings. He stranded all five runners before retiring 12 straight batters until Jo Adell singled with one out in the seventh.
The right-hander matched his longest outing this season and allowed four hits and two walks with five strikeouts.
The Angels were hitless in three at-bats against Lorenzen with runners in scoring position. His .174 opponents’ batting average with runners in scoring position was second best in the American League entering Wednesday.
Kansas City struck first in the second on Kyle Isbel’s bases-loaded two-run double. With two out in the sixth, Melendez hooked a solo homer – his 15th – off the right field foul pole to make it 3-0.
Los Angeles right-hander Johnny Cueto (0-1) allowed three runs on eight hits and two walks with one strikeout over 6 1/3 innings in his season debut.
A Royals 2015 World Series hero, Cueto received a standing ovation from the crowd of 13,009.
Kansas City shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. extended his hitting streak to 10 games with a third-inning double – his 200th career extra-base hit.
John Schreiber pitched the eighth for the Royals and Lucas Erceg struck out two in a hitless ninth to earn his sixth save, his third with Kansas City since being traded from the Oakland Athletics.
The Royals completed their sixth shutout this season and have won 21 straight games when allowing fewer than five runs.
Hunter Renfroe and Adam Frazier each had a pair of hits as Kansas City won its first home series since a July 19-21 sweep of the Chicago White Sox. The Royals have won six of seven games.
Kansas City took five of seven against Los Angeles to secure its first season series win over the Angels since 2017.
Los Angeles was held to four singles while suffering its eighth shutout and its ninth loss in 12 games.