The St. Louis Cardinals earned their second straight win over the Kansas City Royals, taking Saturday afternoon’s contest 4-2 at Busch Stadium and seizing a 2-0 lead in the Interstate-70 series.
Kyle Leahy turned in a solid performance for the Cardinals, working six innings and allowing one run on five hits with three walks and two strikeouts. Gordon Graceffo and Justin Bruihl provided scoreless relief in the middle innings, and George Soriano earned the save with a ninth inning that included Jac Caglianone’s solo home run.
Offensively, the Cardinals struck first in the opening inning when Ivan Herrera doubled and scored on Alec Burleson’s sacrifice fly. They added two more runs in the fifth: Victor Scott II drove in Thomas Saggese with a fielder’s choice, and Masyn Winn delivered a sacrifice fly to plate Nathan Church. Burleson provided insurance in the eighth with a two-out single that scored Winn, pushing the lead to 4-1.
The Royals responded with Vinnie Pasquantino’s RBI single in the fifth and Caglianone’s ninth-inning homer, but could get no closer.
The game featured another outstanding atmosphere thanks to the Tarps Off kids in right field for the second consecutive day. The energetic, shirtless group created a vibrant, loud rally environment that visibly energized the home crowd and team. After the win, the group had the chance to meet Cardinals manager Oli Marmol and were invited into the clubhouse to celebrate with the players.
The victory improves the Cardinals to 27-18 on the season. The series concludes on Sunday afternoon.
