KANSAS CITY — Joe Saunders won his third straight start and Bobby Abreu drove in three runs, leading the Los Angeles Angels to a 7-2 win over the Kansas City Royals on Sunday.

The Angels are 9-0 against the Royals this season and have won 33 of their past 43 games between the two clubs.

Saunders (12-7) wasn’t at his best, giving up 10 hits, but he surrendered only two runs in 5 1-3 innings. In his past three starts, Saunders has allowed four earned runs in 17 1-3 innings.

Royals starter Luke Hochevar, the first pick in the 2006 draft, was battered for seven runs on nine hits and two walks in 3 2-3 innings. Hochevar (6-9) is 0-6 with an 8.12 ERA in eight starts since a July 25 victory over Texas.

The Angels grouped together eight of their 11 hits in the second and fourth innings to score all their runs. They sent eight men to the plate in a four-run second, when Eric Aybar had a run-producing triple, Mike Napoli an RBI double, and Abreu and Howie Kendrick drove in runs.

Abreu’s double in the three-run fourth scored Kendrick and Chone Figgins. Abreu later scored on Torii Hunter’s single.

Abreu has driven in 72 runs in 88 games since May 25th, the most in the American League over that stretch. He has 89 RBIs and is on pace for his seventh consecutive 100-RBI season.

Miguel Olivo led off the Royals’ fourth with his 18th home run, which leads the club. Brayan Pena’s single in the third scored David DeJesus with the first Kansas City run.

The Royals had 12 hits, but grounded into four double plays.

Left-hander Dusty Hughes, who replaced Hochevar, pitched 4 1-3 scoreless innings in his big league debut. He allowed one hit — a single to Hunter, the first batter he faced — and struck out five while walking two.

The Royals have lost eight of their past nine games at Kauffman Stadium and have the worst home record, 26-44, in the majors.

NOTES: Angels OF-DH Vladimir Guerrero, who was in a 1 for 17 skid his past four games, did not play. Angels manager Mike Scioscia said it was not injury related and Guerrero would start Monday. ... Royals manager Trey Hillman said he would “rework the rotation” to move RHP Zack Greinke back a day or two instead of starting him Thursday on his normal day. Greinke threw a career high 125 pitches in eight innings Saturday against the Angels. ... Aybar tripled in his first two at-bats to tie an Angels record for triples in a game.