Angels win 6th straight

Colon shuts down Royals offense

? Bartolo Colon allowed just two singles through the first seven innings, and Vladimir Guerrero and Jose Guillen homered on consecutive pitches, helping the Anaheim Angels beat the Kansas City Royals, 9-4, Monday night for their sixth straight victory.

Coming off a three-game sweep at Yankee Stadium, the Angels staked Colon to a 9-0 lead after six innings en route to their 14th win in 18 games. They are a season-best 17 games over .500 (71-54).

Colon (13-9) allowed five hits in 72/3 innings, including back-to-back homers in the eighth by Calvin Pickering and Aaron Guiel after a leadoff walk to Abraham Nunez. Pickering has three homers and eight RBIs in two games since being recalled from the minors.

Colon struck out six and walked two. He is 8-1 in his last nine starts.

Royals shortstop Angel Berroa, last season’s AL Rookie of the Year, was recalled from Double-A Wichita before the game and went 0-for-4.

Darrell May (9-14) allowed five runs and nine hits in five innings, tying Arizona’s Brandon Webb for the most losses in the majors. The left-hander has given up 14 earned runs and 18 hits in seven innings his last two starts.

Guillen and David Eckstein had three hits apiece for the Angels, who broke it open with four runs in the fifth and four more in the sixth after Chone Figgins began the scoring with an RBI single in the fourth.

Eckstein, who drove in the go-ahead run in the third game of the Angels’ four-game sweep at Kansas City two weeks ago with a suicide squeeze in the ninth inning, bunted up the first-base line for a hit in the fifth after a leadoff walk to Adam Kennedy. One out later, Guerrero drove a 1-2 pitch over the double-decker bullpen in left field for his 28th homer. Guillen followed with his 25th for a 5-0 lead.

Darin Erstad and Guillen each had an RBI single in the sixth. Two more runs came home on an RBI single by Garret Anderson and a throwing error by left fielder Guiel.

Notes: The Angels have won nine consecutive games in which their opponent started a left-hander. … Guiel’s homer ended an 0-for-20 drought. He is 2-for-28 since being recalled from Triple-A Omaha on Aug. 11. … Tim Salmon got a gift single in the fifth when Berroa and Guiel converged on Salmon’s blooper in short LF and Berroa gave way to Guiel at the last instant as the ball fell between them. … Angels 3B Troy Glaus took batting practice at Angel Stadium for the first time since undergoing surgery on his throwing shoulder May 21 and hit several tape-measure shots. … The Royals, whose 44-78 record is the second-worst mark in the majors, have to win 19 of their remaining 40 games to avoid equaling their franchise record of 100 losses in 2002. … Royals 1B Mike Sweeney remained in Kansas City to have his back examined by a doctor.