KANSAS CITY -- As the Trade Deadline nears, the plot thickens for scores of players around Major League Baseball. Included in that large grouping is Angels right-hander Noah Syndergaard, who had one of his better outings this season on Monday night against the Royals.

Syndergaard was one hitter away from delivering six scoreless innings, which would have been his longest stint this year without surrendering a run. But with two on and two outs, his 96th pitch resulted in a soft RBI single by Michael A. Taylor.

The Royals went on to a 7-0 victory in the series opener at Kauffman Stadium, but that didn't take away from the strong effort by Syndergaard, who yielded just the one run on six hits and two walks over 5 2/3 innings.

Clubs looking to add starting pitching are likely to take notice of what Syndergaard did against the Royals, but he isn't going to dwell on what may or may not happen on or before Aug. 2. From Syndergaard's standpoint, he is happy wearing an Angels uniform.

"I think it [a trade] would be a bittersweet moment, just because I love my time here," Syndergaard said. "But I'm not going to speak in speculation. Right now, I love where I am and I love being an Angel."

Syndergaard ran into trouble when Emmanuel Rivera reached on an infield single and Nick Pratto walked with two outs in the sixth. Interim manager Phil Nevin came out to talk with Syndergaard, who had twice retired Taylor with two on earlier in the game.

"I made a good pitch to Taylor," Syndergaard said. "He put the ball in play and put it where guys weren't. That's just baseball."

Nevin agreed that Syndergaard had the right idea as he tried to finish a scoreless start.

"I wasn't going to take him out," Nevin said. "Empty the tank right there. It was a first-pitch slider that was off the plate. It just didn't work out."

The Angels had a chance to give Syndergaard the lead in the top of the sixth after a leadoff double by Jared Walsh. But cleanup hitter Luis Rengifo failed in his bid to move Walsh to third with a sacrifice bunt. The Royals nipped Walsh at third when the bunt was laid down too close to pitcher Amir Garrett, who made an accurate throw.

For the most part, the Angels' offense was stuck in neutral. Designated hitter Shohei Ohtanii fouled a ball off his right leg in the third, but he stayed around to take all of his at-bats. Nevin said the Angels will check with Ohtani on Tuesday to make sure he's ready to finish out the series with DH roles.

"He has a pretty good bruise on his leg," Nevin said, adding the ball fortunately hit muscle and not bone.

The silver lining for the Halos was Syndergaard, who has been pleased overall by his season as he continues to work his way back from Tommy John surgery in 2020.

"Overall, I feel like I'm learning a lot," Syndergaard said. "I'm still getting a feel for my delivery after not pitching for two years. Working with the stuff that I have [now] is going to make me a better pitcher for when the plus stuff comes back. And hopefully, I can dominate even more."