The game turned in one inning. Kansas City trailed 2-0 entering the fourth, then sent nine batters to the plate and scored four times to take a lead it would not relinquish. St. Louis made it interesting in the ninth, but the Royals held on for a 6-5 victory Friday night at Kauffman Stadium before 27,323 fans.
Seth Lugo absorbed the early deficit and kept Kansas City close long enough for the offense to respond. Over six innings, Lugo allowed 2 runs — 1 earned — on 5 hits and 3 walks, throwing 85 pitches. He struck out none, but the results held. Lugo picked up his third win against four losses, carrying a 3.69 ERA. Alex Lange worked the final 0.1 innings, allowing 1 hit and no runs, to earn his fifth save of the season.
The fourth inning was the story. Lane Thomas scored when Jac Caglianone singled to center, cutting the deficit to 2-1. Caglianone then scored on an error — Michael Massey's single to center prompted a throwing error by center fielder Church, with Massey safe at second — to tie the game at 2-2. From that tie, Isaac Collins doubled to left, and both Rave and Massey scored to put Kansas City ahead 4-2. Caglianone added a solo home run to left in the fifth, a 404-foot shot, and Tyler Tolbert's sacrifice fly in the sixth scored Nick Loftin to push the lead to 6-2. Caglianone finished 2-for-4 with 2 RBI, a home run, and 2 runs scored. Collins went 2-for-4 with 2 doubles and 2 RBI.
Michael McGreevy took the loss, falling to 3-6. He lasted 5 innings, allowing all 6 Kansas City runs on 8 hits and 1 walk, with 2 strikeouts on 95 pitches. His ERA stands at 3.35. St. Louis made the final score close — Masyn Winn's double in the ninth scored Lars Nootbaar, and Blaze Jordan's single to right brought home Winn and Velázquez to make it 5-6 — but the Cardinals could not complete the comeback. Jordan Walker went 2-for-3 with an RBI for St. Louis, and Ivan Herrera drove in a run with a single in the third.
Kansas City extended its winning streak to two games and improved to 31-45, fourth in the division. St. Louis dropped its second straight, falling to 40-33.