KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Omar Infante told Royals shortstop Alcides Escobar that on a muggy night at Kauffman Stadium, with a stiff breeze blowing out to left field, any ball hit solidly would clear the fence.
Infante never predicted that he’d hit one with the bases loaded.
The veteran capped a seven-run inning with his first career grand slam Friday, and Kansas City held on to beat the Los Angeles Angels 8-6 on a rough night for starting pitchers.
The grand slam in the third gave the Royals a 7-2 lead, and they tacked on one more run the next inning. Then, after starter Jason Vargas gave up four runs in the fifth, the Kansas City bullpen twirled five scoreless innings to preserve the victory.
Michael Mariot (1-0) picked up his first career win with 1 1/3 innings of relief, and Greg Holland earned his 23rd save by tossing a perfect ninth.
