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Angels All-Star Line-Up Makes Life Difficult For Royals Pitchers

The heart of the Los Angeles Angels line-up reads like a section of the American League All-Star line-up. That spells trouble for the Kansas City Royals staff in their current series against the red hot bats of the Angels -- one anchored by Albert Pujols who, incredibly enough, wasn't even named an All-Star in 2012.

Last night, Bruce Chen held the Angels to three runs in just over five innings, but after the game, he spoke about the difficulty facing the team.

"They have a very good team and they're very tough on lefties -- their whole lineup is right-handed," Chen said. "I thought I made good pitches, I battled. It's tough when you have to face [Albert] Pujols, Torii Hunter, [Mark] Trumbo, [Mike] Trout. We were close and we did everything we could."

In the end, it was a bat given the night off who came in to pinch hit the winning runs in. Kendry Morales came in off of Greg Holland in the eight to seal the win -- another bit of evidence that the Angels are loaded offensively.

The Royals hope to turn the tide in game two and somehow quiet the bats that cause trouble for any starting rotation -- let alone one as thin as the Royals have.

Read more on the Royals at Royals Review and SB Nation Kansas City. Head over toHalos Heaven and SB Nation Los Angeles for more on the Angels. Baseball Nation is your source for news and analysis around Major League Baseball.