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Bobby Abreu’s 10th-inning homer gives Angels 2-1 win over Royals

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Aces Jered Weaver of the Angels and Zack Greinke of the Kansas City Royals battled to a draw Wednesday, so it was left to the bullpens to determine the series finale between the teams in Angel Stadium.

It didn’t take too long. With one out in the bottom of the 10th inning, Bobby Abreu hit a solo home run to right-center field off reliever Jesse Chavez to give the Angels a 2-1 walk-off victory and a three-game sweep of the Royals.

Brian Fuentes, who retired the side in order in the top of the 10th, got the win, the Angels’ fifth victory in their last six games and their seventh walk-off victory of the season.

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Weaver allowed one run and six hits in eight innings and struck out 11, increasing his major league-leading strikeout total to 182. It marked the sixth time in his career and the fourth time this season that Weaver -- who threw a career-high 121 pitches, 84 for strikes -- struck out 10 or more in a game.

Greinke, the 2009 American League Cy Young Award winner, also allowed one run and six hits in eight innings, striking out six and walking one. The right-hander threw 111 pitches, 71 for strikes.

Weaver escaped first-and-third, one-out jams in both the seventh and eighth innings to preserve a 1-1 tie. After Alex Gordon singled with one out and took third on Mike Aviles’ single in the seventh, Weaver struck out Brayan Pena with a slow curve and got Yuniesky Betancourt to fly out to center.

With one out in the eighth, Mitch Maier blooped a single to left-center and took third when Billy Butler flared a single to center. Kila Ka’aihue popped out to first, and after Wilson Betemit walked to load the bases, Weaver got Gordon to hit a slow roller to first, the pitcher fielding the ball on the line and tagging Gordon to end the inning.

The Angels took a 1-0 lead in the third inning when Reggie Willits reached on a fielder’s choice, took third on Abreu’s bloop single to left-center and scored on Erick Aybar‘s sacrifice fly to center. They did not get a runner to second base in the next five innings against Greinke.

The Royals tied it in the sixth when Betancourt led off with a home run to center field, Willits leaping at the wall but coming up just short in his attempt to rob Betancourt of his 10th homer of the season.

-- Mike DiGiovanna

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