Who could really blame Kevin Appier if he didn’t want to see the Yankees again? On July 29th he was battered by New York, giving up four runs in two-thirds of an inning. He hit the showers and hit the road, getting cut by Anaheim. Last night, in his second start since re-joining the Royals, he was masterful, pitching six innings of three-hit ball and earning an 11-0 win. He got some help from Mike Sweeney who went 2-4 with four RBI’s. Brent Mayne was 4-4, driving two runs and scoring three times. Mendy Lopez drove in two with his first homer of the season. After Appier’s departure, Jeremy Affeldt allowed a hit and a walk over two innings and Curtis Leskanic worked around a walk in the ninth to close it out. This was the first home series the Royals have won against the Yankees since September of 1993. Appier’s old team did them a favor last night by beating the White Sox and extending Kansas City’s lead in the A.L. Central to a game and a half.

Albert Pujols kept his hitting streak alive, but it wasn’t enough as the Cards fell to the Pirates 6-5. Randall Simon’s pinch-hit single off Pedro Borbon in the ninth inning broke a five-all tie and ended the game. With a man on and two out, Tony LaRussa had Borbon intentionally walk two batters before Simon’s game-winner. Pujols’ streak saving hit was a three-run homer in the third. It was his 34th of the season and extended his hitting streak to 27 games. He holds the longest streak in the majors this year and it’s the longest Cardinal hitting streak since Ken Boyer hit safely in 29-straight games in 1959. The Cards remain a game behind the Astros.

The Nationwide Tour makes a stop in Springfield today for the Charity Championship at Highland Springs. The 14-year old tour— which has gone names like the Hogan Tour, the Nike Tour and most recently the Buy.com Tour—is the only one to guarantee players an opportunity to play in the PGA if they perform well. The top 20 money winners are offered a tour card and players who win three events on the Nationwide Tour get a card as well. Omar Uresti and Guy Boros have two victories apiece and could secure their card with a win this week. The 156-player field includes five Missourians playing for the $94,500 winner’s check. Those players are James Farrell of Kansas City, Stan Utley and Jason Schultz of Columbia, Michael Letzig of Richmond and Ty Myers of Branson.