Matt Carpenter’s three-run homer capped a six-run fourth inning as the Cardinals cruised to an 11-3 win over the Royals in Kansas City in the first of four games between our in-state teams. Kolten Wong and Paul DeJong added two-run shots for St. Louis, which has won three in-a-row. Carlos Martinez pitched eight innings of two-run ball to run his record to 8-9.
Mike Moustakas, Eric Hosmer and Brandon Moss all hit solo homers for KC, which has lost six of its last eight games. Ian Kennedy took the loss, allowing seven runs, six earned to drop to 4-8 on the season. For Moose, it was his 32nd homer of the season, closing to within four of Steve Balboni’s franchise record of 36 in a season.
Royals All-Star catcher Salvador Perez is hoping to be back once his 10-day stint on the disabled list is up. “Salvy” left Friday’s game with a strained right side after a swing and a miss. Perez has been bothered by nagging issues with both sides of his torso since May. Drew Butera has taken over behind the plate in Salvy’s absence.
Dexter Fowler was activated from the disabled list last night and went 1-for-3 with a triple, a walk and two runs scored. Fowler had been out since July 24th with a strained left forearm. He’s hitting .242 with 14 home runs overall. Outfielder Stephen Piscotty was optioned to Triple-A Memphis.
The Cardinals and Royals meet again tonight in Kansas City. Michael Wacha will start for St. Louis and Jason Vargas for the Royals. After tonight, the two teams meet for two more games tomorrow and Thursday at Busch Stadium.
—AL Central Division —
Indians 59 50 –
Royals 57 54 3
Twins 54 56 5.5
Tigers 51 60 9
White Sox 41 68 18
—NL Central Division —
Cubs 59 52 –
Brewers 59 55 1.5
Cardinals 56 56 3.5
Pirates 55 57 4.5
Reds 46 66 13.51