Angels' Joel Pineiro remains stuck on 99 wins

For the fourth time the Angels' Joel Pineiro took the mound in search of his 100th career victory Tuesday -- and for the fourth time he came away empty.

Only this time the right-hander has no one to blame but himself.

Pineiro botched an apparent inning-ending double play ball in the third, side-arming his throw into center field, and the Kansas City Royals took advantage by scoring five times en route to a 7-3 victory, just their second win in 10 games.

The Angels gave Pineiro a 2-0 lead in the first when four of their first five batters singled, the final two hits run-scoring singles by Alberto Callaspo and Mark Trumbo on full-count pitches. Two innings later, they loaded the bases against Royals starter Jeff Francis (2-5) but failed to score.

And that proved to be a turning point in the game because in Kansas City's half of the third, Chris Getz bunted for a one-out single and Alcides Escobar followed by bouncing a pitch right back to the mound. Pineiro fielded the ball cleanly, spun and had plenty of time to throw to second but he rushed it and ball sailed untouched into center field.

Three of the next four Royals had run-scoring hits, including Eric Hosmer, who doubled in a pair. Then in the fifth, Hosmer singled and stole a base on a pitch Pineiro bounced in the dirt before coming around to score, making it 6-2. The Angels answered that with a run of their own in the sixth on a bunt single by Peter Bourjos, a stolen base and a one-out double by Jeff Mathis off the left-field wall.

That was the end of the Angels' offense, though, and Pineiro (2-2) was finished after that as well, going six innings and allowing nine hits and six runs, four of which were earned.

Trumbo and Mathis finished with two hits and an RBI each for the Angels. For the Royals, Getz and Alex Gordon had three hits each with Gordon scoring twice and knocking in a run. Hosmer had two hits, scoring twice and driving in two runs.

-- Kevin Baxter in Kansas City

Photo: Angels starter Joel Pineiro reacts after giving up a run during the third inning of the Angels' 7-3 loss to the Kansas City Royals on Tuesday. Credit: Jamie Squire / Getty Images