Angels’ loss spoils big hitting day for Bobby Abreu

Bobby Abreu couldn’t remember the last time he had reached base seven times in a game. And it had been two years since he had five hits in one game.

But Sunday’s milestones weren’t ones he felt like celebrating after the Angels lost again to the Kansas City Royals, this time 12-9 on Matt Treanor’s 13th-inning home run.

“You feel like you’re doing your job. You get on base and score some runs. We make a nice comeback,” he said. “But you want to just win the game. That’s what’s important for us and what really matters.

“It’s not easy when you have a game like this.”

Angels stagger off against Royals in 13-inning loss

Abreu’s five hits were among 19 by the Angels. And he also had one of the team’s five home runs. But the Angels again struggled with runners in scoring position, going one for 10 and leaving 11 men on base.

Torii Hunter took the blame for much of that. Although the three hitters in front of him — Maicer Izturis, Howie Kendrick and Abreu — combined to reach base 14 times, Hunter was one for seven without a run batted in. He is hitless in seven at-bats this season with runners in scoring position.

“I’m an older guy,” he said. “I’ve got to get the job done. I haven’t had a series like this in a long time.”

Angels-Royals box score

Hunter hit two solo home runs in the four games in Kansas City but managed only two singles otherwise, leaving him hitting .211 with two RBIs.

“It’s rough, man. Lose the game late. We’ve just got to try to clean it up,” he said.

Rodney’s getting rocked

Closer Fernando Rodney found the strike zone with only seven of 20 pitches Sunday, walking three and giving up two runs in his second shaky performance of the season. And although Manager Mike Scioscia isn’t sure how to fix that, he knows where to start.

“It was an obvious release-point issue,” he said. “His mechanics were all over the place. I don’t think he repeated the same mechanics on any pitch.”

In two appearances against the Royals, Rodney walked as many batters, four, as he retired.

Numbers game

The extra-inning affair produced a lot of stunning numbers.

For starters, the two teams used 36 players and combined for 33 hits. And with the wind blowing out and gusting to 40 mph, eight of those hits were home runs.

Five of the homers belonged to the Angels, who hadn’t hit that many in a game in 22 months.

The Royals stole six bases, their most since April 2002. That, by the way, also had been the last time the Angels had used seven relievers in a game. Which explains why they finished the game with starters Jered Weaver and Dan Haren stretching in the bullpen.

And finally, the Angels and the Royals combined to throw 469 pitches.

kevin.baxter@latimes.com