Caglianone's 5-RBI Night Lifts KC Past LAA in Wild 7-6 Finish

Jac Caglianone went 3-for-4 with a home run and 5 RBI to carry Kansas City past the Angels 7-6 on August 15. The win required a seventh-inning comeback after Los Angeles had taken a 6-5 lead — and it wouldn't have happened without an Angel making the critical error that opened the door.

Kansas City jumped out early. Michael Massey launched a 400-foot home run to right center in the second to put KC up 1-0, and Caglianone followed in the third with a two-run single to right that scored Isbel and Jensen, pushing it to 3-0. That's when the game turned on its biggest single swing. Schanuel doubled to right, scoring Guzman, Meckler, and Heineman to tie it at 3-3 — a play that flipped the home win probability from 25% to 52% in one at-bat. Neto then singled to left to score Schanuel, and suddenly Los Angeles led 4-3 after barely being in the game.

Caglianone answered in the fifth with a 393-foot home run to right center, a two-run shot that scored Witt Jr. and put KC back on top 5-4. The Angels wouldn't go quietly — Schanuel singled to right to score Heineman and tie it again at 5-5, though Trout was thrown out at home trying to extend the damage. Then in the sixth, Lowe hit a 407-foot solo shot to right center to give Los Angeles a 6-5 lead, and it looked like the Angels had finally wrestled control of a game that had been a back-and-forth mess from the third inning on.

The story of the night, though, was Kansas City's seventh. Caglianone singled to right, and Witt Jr. scored on a throwing error by shortstop Neto — the same player who had driven in the go-ahead run for LAA in the third. That error tied it at 6-6, and Massey immediately followed with a single to right to score Caglianone and give KC the 7-6 lead for good. Massey was thrown out trying to stretch it to a double, but the damage was done. On the mound, Seth Lugo gave up 5 earned runs in 4.2 innings — a rough outing — but Nate Pearson came on and delivered a clean 1.0 inning with 2 strikeouts and no hits allowed, which looks like the bridge that kept Kansas City alive long enough for the offense to finish the job. Caglianone's 5-RBI performance was the engine; Neto's seventh-inning error was the turning point LAA will want to forget.