Angels make it eight wins in a row by beating Royals, 5-2

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — It took a month and a half for the Angels to find a formula for success, one that was clearly evident Sunday in a 5-2 come-from-behind victory over the Kansas City Royals that extended their win streak to eight.

“We’re feeding off each other, getting hits at the right time,” said Josh Hamilton, whose solo home run in the seventh inning sparked a three-run rally that erased a 2-0 deficit and pushed the Angels toward their second four-game sweep of the Royals in franchise history.

“We’re getting a break or two here and there, the pitching staff is stepping up, doing a great job, guys are playing loose and having fun. You do all that stuff at the same time, it’s hard to lose games.”

BOX SCORE: Angels 5, Kansas City 2

Jerome Williams (4-1) gave up two runs and seven hits in six innings for a rotation that is 7-0 with a 1.90 earned-run average during the streak. Relievers Sean Burnett, Kevin Jepsen, Garrett Richards, Scott Downs and Ernesto Frieri, who survived a 28-pitch ninth for his 10th save, combined for three scoreless innings.

Left fielder J.B. Shuck, who has done a superb job filling in for the injured Peter Bourjos, knocked in the tying run with a single in the seventh and added a run-scoring single in a two-run eighth, his three-hit game boosting his average to .315.

“It’s been a real pleasure to have a guy step right in and be productive,” first baseman Mark Trumbo said of Shuck. “He’s a total grinder. I love the way he plays. He runs out everything hard, plays good defense.”

Erick Aybar’s run-scoring single in the seventh broke a 2-2 tie, and Chris Iannetta added a run-scoring single in the eighth. The Angels were four for 11 with runners in scoring position and are hitting .417 (30 for 72) in those situations during the streak.

The only damper was another injury to Burnett, who came off the disabled list Tuesday after missing four weeks because of a left forearm irritation but left the game Sunday because of forearm tightness after facing two batters in the seventh.

“Hopefully, it’s something the medical staff can manage, but we’ll see where he is in 24 hours,” Manager Mike Scioscia said. “Sean is very important to us. For him to be down would be tough.”

Burnett said the discomfort is on the back of his elbow, opposite from his previous injury.

“I’m not really sure what’s going on,” he said. “It’s frustrating because I’m throwing well and not feeling good. I want to pitch, but I have to be smart about it. I don’t want to put the team in jeopardy by not being 100%.”

The Angels (23-27) moved to within four games of .500 but have gained only three games on Texas during the streak and are nine games behind the Rangers entering a four-game series against the Dodgers. A similar uphill climb after an awful start in 2012 fell short.

“I’m not paying attention to the Rangers,” Trumbo said. “We saw that play out last year, and it was kind of a drag. It’s more important to be in tune with what we’re doing than to be focused on chasing them all season.”

mike.digiovanna@latimes.com

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