Alec Burleson Drives In 2 as St. Louis Cardinals Beat Royals 4-2

Alec Burleson drove in two runs and the st. louis cardinals beat the Kansas City Royals 4-2 on Saturday in St. Louis. The win came in Game 2 of the I-70 series and pushed St. Louis to four wins in its last five games.

Burleson Sets The Pace

Burleson put St. Louis in front with a sacrifice fly in the first inning, then added a two-out RBI single in the eighth to make it 4-1. Those were the two runs that separated the Cardinals from a game that tightened briefly in the middle innings.

Masyn Winn supplied the other key RBI for St. Louis with a sacrifice fly in the fifth inning. That came after Thomas Saggese ended his 0-for-30 slump with a leadoff single, then scored on a fielder's choice by sliding safely at home.

Kansas City Briefly Responds

The Royals pulled level at 1-1 in the fifth when Maikel Garcia doubled and Vinnie Pasquantino followed with a two-out single to center. Noah Cameron lasted six innings and allowed three runs on five hits, but the St. Louis response in that same inning flipped the game back in the Cardinals' favor.

Kyle Leahy handled the other side of the matchup with six innings of one-run ball on five hits and improved to 5-3 for his fifth win. George Soriano finished the job for his second save even after Jac Caglianone led off the ninth with a homer.

I-70 Series Shift

The game started 46 minutes late because of rain, and the crowd included the Stephen F. Austin club baseball team, which returned Saturday after attending Friday's game in the same series. St. Louis has now gone 81-55 against Kansas City since interleague play began in 1997.

The loss was Kansas City’s sixth straight, and the Royals have dropped 17 of their first 23 road games. The series ends Sunday with Stephen Kolak scheduled to start for the Royals against Andre Pallante.