David Freese leads Angels past Royals, 6-2

KEY MOMENT: The Angels nursed a 2-0 lead through a four-hour rain delay, but David Freese gave them two more runs in the sixth inning. He had three hits — tying his high with the Angels — and drove in three runs. His batting average rose to a season-high .238. Freese is batting .175 when he bats in the top five spots in the order and .315 when he bats in the bottom four.

AT THE PLATE: The Angels were seven for 15 with runners in scoring position. In their last 42 at-bats in that situation, they have 19 hits, good for a .452 average. “We’re cashing them in,” said Manager Mike Scioscia. “You can see how it’s reflected in our record.” The Angels have won eight of their last 10 games, and their .570 winning percentage is third-best in the American League, behind only the Oakland Athletics and Detroit Tigers.

ON THE MOUND: Hector Santiago (0-7) pitched four shutout innings, and he was three outs from his first victory of the season when the rains came. When the game resumed, rookie Mike Morin took over. He pitched two innings and gave up two runs, but he got credit for the victory in front of his hometown crowd, or what was left of it. Jason Grilli, acquired from the Pittsburgh Pirates on Friday for Ernesto Frieri, made his Angels debut and pitched a perfect eighth inning.

TROUT HIT IT HOW FAR? When Mike Trout hit a home run into the fountains deep beyond left-center field Friday, the Royals announced the estimated distance at 445 feet. ESPN then declared the distance at 489 feet, the longest in the majors this season — except that the ESPN distance is a projection of how far the ball might have gone had it landed unimpeded. But that is not reality, and the Royals were so perturbed that they did an actual measurement. From home plate to splashdown, the Royals said, the ball Trout hit traveled 455 feet.

UP NEXT: The Angels’ C.J. Wilson (8-6, 3.70 earned-run average) faces the Royals’ Jeremy Guthrie (5-6, 3.75) on Sunday at 11:10 a.m. PDT at Kansas City’s Kauffman Stadium. TV: FSW. Radio: 830, 1330.