KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Johnny Cueto had an imprecise beginning, but then turned it up a notch.

Salvador Perez homered and doubled in a six-run second inning and Cueto pitched eight impressive innings as the Kansas City Royals defeated the Los Angeles Angels 9-4 on Saturday night.

Cueto, who shut out Detroit on four hits in his first Royals home start earlier in the week, allowed one run in the first two innings against the Angels, but that was it.

"Johnny came out in the first two innings and he wasn't extremely sharp," Royals manager Ned Yost said. "He just wasn't sharp. But we got the six runs in the bottom of that inning, from that point on he was razor-sharp. It's always good to get a pitcher like Johnny some breathing room, some run support. He can go do his thing."

The Angels totaled eight hits against Cueto in eight innings, including three by second baseman Johnny Giavotella.

Cueto has given up one run and 12 hits in 17 innings in two Kauffman Stadium starts since being acquired in a July 26 trade with Cincinnati.

The Royals' 14 hits included seven doubles and six players with multiple hits. Center fielder Jarrod Dyson stroked three singles, stole two bases and drove in three runs. Second baseman Ben Zobrist reached base four times with three walks and a RBI double.

"Any time you get a win that's a great day for us," said Dyson, who celebrated his 31st birthday.

"We had our ace going today. Our whole offense did a great job."

Right-hander Luke Hochevar, who replaced Cueto in the ninth, gave up a first pitch home run to C.J. Cron. Two more runs scored in the inning after an error by Dyson and catcher Carlos Perez's two-out RBI single.

The Royals sent 11 batters to the plate in a six-run second.

Perez, who missed the three previous games with a tender left wrist, began it with a colossal home run into the fountains in left center.

"On the first pitch he hit it in the seats, I turned to (hitting coach) Dale Sveum and said, 'I guess his wrist feels OK.'" Yost said.

Perez also closed the scoring in the inning with a double down the left-field line. He is the first Royal to stroke two extra-base hits in an inning since Jermaine Dye on Aug. 30, 1997, against the St. Louis Cardinals.

The inning included Dyson's two-run single. He wound up scoring on a single by first baseman Eric Hosmer, who has a RBI in nine consecutive games, the longest active streak in the majors.

Third baseman Mike Moustakas' fielder's-choice groundout scored Zobrist, who had walked, with the other run in the inning.

Angels right-hander Matt Shoemaker did not make it through the 24-minute half inning before being replaced by Fernando Salas.

Shoemaker, who threw 34 pitches in the second, retired only five of the 15 batters he faced and seven scored. He yielded six runs, seven hits and three walks.

"It seemed like not one thing went right," Shoemaker said in the second. "I got only a couple of outs after all those runs scored. You're trying to throw a quality pitch to get a guy out and no matter what you're throwing up there, they were hitting it.

"The pitch to Perez was up, but solo homers are not going to beat you. It's all the stuff that went on after that. They were just continuing base hit after base hit. I've got to find a way to stop that. The second inning just kept going."

In two career starts at Kauffman Stadium, Shoemaker has surrendered 14 runs, 18 hits and four walks in 5 2/3 innings.

The Royals added a run in the third on a two-out single by Zobrist.

First baseman Albert Pujols, who went to high school and junior college in the Kansas City area, led off the Angels' second with a home run.

"I felt like I was kind of aiming the ball a little bit in the first two innings," Cueto said through a translator. "When Pujols hit the home run it woke me up a little bit. It was time to roll."

After Pujols' 31st homer of the season, designated hitter David Murphy doubled, but the Angels did not convert that opportunity. Murphy was out at the plate attempting to score on left fielder David DeJesus' single to center.

In the bottom of the inning Shoemaker put the Angels in a 6-1 hole.

"Not only behind in the count, but all the things he needs to bring into a game were just missing," Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. "Shoe was just a rough night with his fastball and also his secondary pitches didn't show up. We'll turn the page on it. He just never got into synch."

NOTES: During a pregame ceremony, the Royals inducted 1B Mike Sweeney into their Hall of Fame. The five-time All-Star drove in a franchise-record 144 runs in 2000 and hit .299 with the Royals from 1995 to 2007. ... SS Erick Aybar (back tightness) was not in the Angels' lineup for the third straight game, but he did take ground balls before the game. ... Royals 2B Omar Infante, who is hitless in his past 26 at-bats, was not in the lineup. ... Angels OF Matt Joyce, who is on the disabled list with a concussion, will begin a rehab assignment Sunday with Triple-A Salt Lake City. ... Angels LHP Hector Santiago (7-6, 2.87 ERA) and Royals RHP Yordano Ventura (7-7, 4.97) are the scheduled pitchers for Sunday.