The bats finally came alive in today’s series closer between the St. Louis Cardinals and Kansas City Royals, with an extra-innings thriller that featured some impressive clutch hitting. In the end, it was the Cardinals who finished strong with two runs in the top of the 10th inning to take a 9-8 victory and steal the last two on the road at Kauffman Stadium.
In a series that had featured two shutouts thus far, both teams combined for 26 hits and 17 runs. The Cardinals held a 7-2 lead and seemed to be cruising to victory until the Royals came alive in the sixth on home runs from Jeff Francouer and Wilson Betemit. Ultimately, the Royals couldn’t overcome two St. Louis runs in extra innings.
On the Cardinals end, unlikely heroes came in the form of 2B Allen Craig, who hit his third home run on the year, and C Yadier Molina, who had 3 RBI. In a notable stat, Cards OF Colby Rasmus drew an incredible five walks. Full boxscore is found here.
From here, the Royals head on the road this week to Baltimore for a three game set with the Orioles followed by another road series in Texas against the Rangers.