Despite their playoff hopes ending just before first pitch, the Kansas City Royals maintained their recent spell of offensive power, defeating the Los Angeles Angels 8-4 on Tuesday, Sept. 23 in Anaheim.

The Royals quickly got to Angels starter Sam Aldegheri, scattering a leadoff double and single, before a wild pitch allowed Maikel Garcia to score. Salvador Perez added an RBI single to make the score 2-0. The Royals scored in the fifth after a pair of doubles, which came in handy as Bryce Teodosio delivered a two-run home run to left field in the home half of the inning.

The game was put out of reach in the seventh, when the Royals turned a pair of two-out singles into runs with Adam Frazier’s double. He was tagged out attempting to make it a triple, but his dash to third forced a cutoff throw that scored Randall Grichuk beforehand. The Royals added three more runs in the eighth with a single from Garcia and double from Bobby Witt Jr. The Angels claimed two runs back in the ninth for the final score.

Garcia went three-for-four on the night with his two doubles, also getting on base with one of the four walks drawn by the Royals. Cole Ragans struck out ten across five innings for the win, allowing two runs on three hits with a walk.

The Royals are now 79-78, one game over .500. However, Cleveland’s three-run sixth inning to post a 5-2 win over the suddenly slumping Detroit Tigers eliminated the Royals from postseason contention. With the prospect of a winning season still possible, the Royals will send Stephen Kolek to the mound Wednesday evening for the second game against the Angels. First pitch is at 8:38 p.m., with pregame at 8 p.m. on KMMO-FM 102.9.