Coverage of today's Cards and Royals game can be heard on Newstalk 97.3 WTIM beginning at 6:35pm.
St. Louis, MO (SportsNetwork.com) - Danny Duffy and three Kansas City
relievers combined on a three-hit shutout of the St. Louis Cardinals as the
Royals got their I-70 series started with a 6-0 victory.
Duffy (3-5) allowed just one hit and one walk over six innings for the Royals,
who were coming off a four-game split in Toronto over the weekend.
Alex Gordon broke a scoreless tie with a solo home run in the seventh, Mike
Moustakas added a two-run double and Salvador Perez went 3-for-4 with two runs
scored and an RBI for the victors.
Shelby Miller (6-5) came undone in the latter innings and was charged with
four runs on seven hits over seven-plus frames for the Cardinals, who were
shut out for the second straight day and fell to 2-6 on a nine-game homestand.
"I gave it all away (in the seventh)," Miller said. "It's frustrating on my
part, because it's my fault we lost."
These close interleague rivals will play again at Busch Stadium Tuesday, then
round out a four-game home-and-home set with two meetings in Kansas City.
There were no extra-base hits from either side Monday before Gordon changed
that with a leadoff shot that cleared the bullpen beyond the wall in right in
the seventh.
"I wanted to try to do some damage," Gordon said. "I got a pitch away, was
able to get extended and got a good swing on it."
Gordon's fifth home run of the season began a string of four consecutive hits
for the Royals, who added two more runs when Moustakas doubled into the gap in
left to knock in Perez and Lorenzo Cain.
Duffy was pinch-hit for in the frame, and though the decision to pull him did
not immediately pay off, Kansas City blew the game open with three more runs
in the eighth.
With two on and one out, Perez singled past a diving Mark Ellis and into
center field to plate Omar Infante. Gordon scored on the play when Randal
Grichuk misplayed the ball in center, and Lorenzo Cain's sacrifice fly made it
a 6-0 game.
Kansas City's Kelvin Herrera, Wade Davis and Aaron Crow each tossed an inning
of relief behind Duffy to finish off the shutout.
Game Notes
The Cardinals began a string of nine straight interleague games ... Cardinals
infielder Matt Carpenter went 0-for-4 and had his 14-game hitting streak
snapped ... Matt Holliday had two of St. Louis' hits ... The shutout was the
Royals' first ever of the Cardinals in St. Louis.