Royals use six pitchers in bullpen game, lose 4-2 to Angels

The Kansas City Royals used six pitchers in a bullpen game, but the offense went cold late in a 4-2 loss Wednesday to the Los Angeles Angels.

The Royals drop to 13-7-3 with the loss, but still have most Cactus League wins with less than one week remaining in spring training.

Left-handed prospect Daniel Lynch, who was reassigned to minor league camp Monday, started the game and tossed two innings. Lynch worked out of jams in both innings, but minimized the damage to one run and three hits. He struck out one hitter and did not allow a walk.

The Royals took two early leads, but neither one lasted long. Michael A. Taylor drove in the game’s first run on a second-inning sacrifice fly. The Angels tied it in the bottom of that inning.

In the fourth, with the game tied 1-1, Hunter Dozier blasted a solo home run. The third baseman has homered in back-to-back games and has cleared the fences four times this spring. Dozier also leads the Royals with 11 runs batted in.

The Angels rallied to take the lead in the sixth. With two outs and two runners on, Royals reliever Jonathan Bowlan allowed a go-ahead home run to Angels veteran Justin Upton.

Aside from the home run, the Royals bullpen enjoyed a strong afternoon. Jakob Junis and Greg Holland retired nine consecutive hitters between the third and fifth innings. Josh Staumont and Austin Cox also tossed a scoreless frame each.

The Royals offense went cold in the later stages of the game. Kansas City strung together just two hits after the Angels took the lead. Jorge Soler led the offense with a two-hit day, raising his spring batting average to .255.

Kansas City returns to Surprise, Arizona to host the Arizona Diamondbacks on Thursday afternoon. The game will air on FOX Sports Kansas City at 3 p.m.