Final Score: STL 3 | KC 8

Overall Record: 65-53

Winning/Losing Pitcher:

• W: Michael Wacha (9-6, 3.50 ERA)
• L: Ryan Fernandez (1-4, 3.38 ERA)
• S: Lucas Erceg (4, 3.14 ERA)

Royals Player(s) of the Game

Michael Wacha

7 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 6 K, 2 BB

Michael Wacha continues to just go out to the mound every five days and give the Royals good outings. He did just that going seven strong while keeping the Cardinals in check. There were some dicey innings but Wacha worked out of them unscathed outside of a 2-run shot from Paul Goldschmidt. Wacha now lowers his ERA to a 3.50 on the year after coming back from an IL stint and looks to continue this hot stretch in his next start.

Bobby Witt Jr

2-for-4 3 RBI, 1 R, 1 BB

BWJ continues to dominate and build up an MVP resume. After the Goldschmidt home run, BWJ answered back with an RBI groundout getting Kyle Isbel in. Then, in the seventh, BWJ would triple to drive in Maikel Garcia to bring his RBI total to two on the day. For some added insurance he would drive in Isbel again in the eighth on a single. BWJ continues to rake since the All-Star break and has been a big catalyst in the Royals winning since that break.

Key Highlights

While the score was 8 to 3, the offense didn’t get going till the latter third of the game. They struggled to get runs off Andre Pallante then Ryan Fernandez came in. Immediately, Freddy Fermin drove in a run. Then the seventh inning happened with Garcia driving Isbel in, then BWJ’s triple, followed by Salvador Perez’s home run. The Royals would add two more runs in the eighth for insurance and didn’t look back.

The pitching was good as well. Outside of Wacha’s brilliance the pen looked solid. Kris Bubic came in and struggled a little while getting a tad unlucky with 3 hits given up and an earned run. He would make two batters look silly, however, striking them both out before Lucas Erceg came into the game. Erceg would get the four-out save and gave up only two hits while striking out two.

Summary of the Next Game

The Royals have a day off before travelling to Minnesota for an in-division series with the Twins. In the first matchup of the series the Royals will send out Brady Singer (8-7, 3.03 ERA) for a shot to get into second in the AL Central. The Twins will counter with Pablo Lopez (10-8, 4.74 ERA) who looks to turn around a rough year. This series is a big one for the Royals as they could get into second place in the AL Central with a couple wins.

(AP Photo/Colin E. Braley)