Coverage of today's Cards and Royals game can be heard on Newstalk 97.3 WTIM beginning at 6:35pm.

Kansas  City, MO  (SportsNetwork.com) -  Matt Carpenter  collected five  hits, including a tie-breaking RBI double in the top of the 11th inning, that helped the  St.  Louis Cardinals claim  a 5-2 victory over  the Kansas City Royals on Wednesday at Kauffman Stadium.

The  Royals rallied for a pair of runs in the ninth to spoil Adam Wainwright's shutout  bid and  tie the  game at  2-2,  but after  both teams  failed to  do anything  in the  10th, Peter Bourjos worked a one-out walk off Kelvin Herrera (1-2) in the 11th.

After  Bourjos swiped  second,  Carpenter  ripped a  double  into  the gap  in right center to put the Cardinals on top. Pinch-hitter Jon Jay then singled to right before Tim Collins replaced Herrera and plunked Matt Holliday.

Allen  Craig followed with a two-run single to right to make it 5-2 before Pat Neshek  retired the side in order in the home half to nail down his first save of the season and snap St. Louis' three-game slide.

Carpenter finished 5-for-5 with two RBI and two runs scored, while Sam Freeman (1-0) secured the win after spinning a perfect 10th inning.

"Tonight,  that's  one of those  special nights  where things are just falling into  place,"  said Carpenter, who reached  base six times in all. "I'm seeing the ball well and putting good swings on it."

Alcides  Escobar registered  two of  the five  hits for  the Royals,  who were coming off back-to-back victories over the Cardinals in St. Louis.

Wainwright  entered the  ninth looking for his third shutout of the season and fanned  Eric Hosmer to start the inning, but the ball skipped to the backstop, allowing Hosmer to reach first.

Billy  Butler  then singled  to center  to chase  Wainwright, as closer Trevor Rosenthal entered from the St. Louis bullpen.

Rosenthal  promptly  walked Alex Gordon to  load the bases for Salvador Perez, who broke his bat on a grounder to third. Carpenter fired to second to start a double  play, but Gordon's  hard slide at second forced Mark Ellis to hold the ball, leaving runners on the corners with one away.

Lorenzo  Cain  then laced  a single  to center to  tie the  game at 2-2 before Rosenthal  struck out Mike Moustakas and lined out Escobar to send the game to extra innings.

"Even  going into the ninth inning with two or three hits, whatever we had, we still  felt as  a group we had a  chance to win the ballgame and that's a good feeling," Royals manager Ned Yost said.

Early  on, Carpenter  gave the Cardinals a  1-0 lead  in the  second when  he stroked  a two-out  single to  center to  score Ellis,  who singled  and stole second prior to Carpenter's base hit.

Carpenter  helped  extend the margin in  the seventh when he clubbed a leadoff double,  moved  to third  on Randal  Grichuk's bunt,  and scored on Holliday's chopper back up the middle.

Kansas City had runners on first and second with one out in the home half, but Wainwright induced an inning-ending 4-6-3 double-play groundout from Cain. The Royals challenged the call, but the umpires ruled Jhonny Peralta's relay throw beat Cain to first.

                                   Game Notes

Wainwright  allowed two  runs on four hits and two walks with eight strikeouts over  eight-plus innings  ... Kansas City starter Jason Vargas surrendered two runs  on nine hits  and two walks over eight frames ... The Royals finished 1-for-11 with runners in scoring position and left six men on base.