Friday’s Game Report: Royals 6, Cardinals 5
By Rob Rains
For the second night in a row, a big inning sent the Royals to a win over the Cardinals in Kansas City – but not without some drama in the ninth inning.
The Cardinals trailed 6-2 going to the ninth inning but scored three runs, two coming on a hit by Blaze Jordan, and had the tying run on base before the Royals were able to secure the victory.
The Royals, after scoring six runs in the second inning on Thursday night, built their lead on Friday night with a four-run fourth inning against Michael McGreevy that wiped out a 2-0 Cardinals lead, handing the Cardinals their third loss in a row.
McGreevy gave up four hits in the inning, two of them doubles, and walked another batter. After hitting eight doubles on Thursday night, the Royals added five more doubles and a home run in this game.
The Cardinals had built their lead on runs in the first and third, each time turning a walk into a run.
Here is how Friday night’s game broke down:
At the plate: Jordan Walker’s sacrifice fly drove in the first run of the game for the Cardinals in the first inning, following a double by Alec Burleson … Ivan Herrera increased the lead to 2-0 with an RBI single in the third … The Cardinals did not have a hit after Nathan Church tripled with two outs in the fifth until the ninth. Walker singled with one out, and after he was forced out, Masyn Winn doubled to drive in the third Cardinals run. Nelson Velazquez walked, and both runners scored on a single by Jordan. Jose Fermin hit into a force out to end the game.
On the mound: The Royals opened the fourth with a double and single off McGreevy, who got into more trouble when he gave up a walk and another double, to Issac Collins, with two outs that drove in two runs … He also gave up a homer in the fifth … The final run came off George Soriano in the sixth, when the Royals turned a leadoff walk into a run.
Key stat: The Cardinals played their fifth game in a row without hitting a home run. They have not homered since JJ Wetherholt’s blast in the sixth inning on Sunday in Minnesota, a streak that has now reached 178 at-bats.
Worth noting: Ryan Fernandez started a rehab assignment on Friday night at Memphis, only needing 10 pitches to retire the three batters he faced.
Up next: The Cardinals and Royals will have a rare scheduled day off on Saturday because of the World Cup game between Curacao and Ecuador at Arrowhead Stadium, which shares the parking lot with Kauffman Stadium. The series will conclude with a 1:10 p.m. game on Sunday, with Dustin May scheduled to start for the Cardinals.
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