Major League debut on the road? No problem for Mitch Farris. The left-hander shined in his debut, guiding the Angels to a 4-1 win over the Kansas City Royals in Tuesday’s series opener at Kauffman Stadium.

At 24 years old, Farris was selected following yesterday’s game to join the big league team and make his debut. He was originally drafted by the Braves in the 14th round in 2023, but was acquired by Los Angeles from Atlanta in December of 2024 in exchange for RHP Davis Daniel.

Calm, cool and collected was the motto for Farris, who only looked stronger as his start went on. He danced around a leadoff walk in the first, along with a walk and a single in the second, but remained firm and kept the Royals off the board.

Kansas City did manage to get one run on the board against the rookie, after Bobby Witt Jr.’s one-out triple in the third set up Vinnie Pasquantino for a sacrifice fly to make it 1-0. From that point onward, Farris was nails, allowing just one more hit and facing the minimum across his final seven batters.

After 70 pitches and five innings, Ray Montgomerly elected to go to his bullpen, ending a very promising first outing. Farris allowed just three hits, striking out three as he improved to 1-0 with his first-ever victory.

With Tuesday’s start, the Wingate University alumn became the first Angels’ player to make his MLB debut as a starting pitcher since Caden Dana in September 2024. He is the fourth player in franchise history to make his debut as a starting pitcher in Kansas City, joining Frank Tanana, Jarrod Washburn and Seth Etherton.

At the plate, the Los Angeles lineup awoke just in time to give Farris the run support he needed to officially be credited with the victory. After being held to no runs and two hits through the first five frames against Royals’ starter Michael Lorenzen, Jo Adell brought thunder to get the Halos out in front.

His two-out, two-run homer landed 454 feet away, putting the Angels ahead 2-1 when it finally landed deep in left field. It was the 32nd of the year for Adell and his second consecutive game going deep. He finished 3-4 on the day, coming through with a hit that Farris surely won’t forget anytime soon. 

Scoring continued to come in the seventh, as Chris Taylor and Oswald Peraza exchanged doubles to make it 3-1. Two batters later, Peraza came around to score the fourth Angel run of the evening on a wild pitch with Zach Neto at the plate.

A final insurance run crossed the plate in the ninth after a pair of singles from Taylor and Peraza allowed Bryce Teodosio to drive home Taylor on a sacrifice fly to center. It was Teodosio’s first RBI in 35 at-bats.

Behind Farris, the Los Angeles bullpen was sound as ever to ensure a smooth ride to the finish line. Jose Fermin, Reid Detmers, Luis Garcia and Kenley Jansen each contributed a scoreless inning out of the bullpen, allowing only one hit combined.

Garcia, who reached 10 years of MLB service time on Monday, has now gone 13 consecutive appearances without conceding a run, allowing only one overall since being acquired by the Angels at the trade deadline. 

Now 4-4 through the first eight games of ten on the road, Los Angeles will look to clinch the three-game set on Wednesday. For the second straight day, a starter is yet to be determined, while Ryan Bergert (2-1, 2.67) will take the mound for the Royals.

The status of Mike Trout, who was a late scratch from Tuesday’s lineup with a skin infection, is yet to be known.

First pitch is scheduled for 4:40 p.m. PT.