Pinch hitter Yohel Pozo laced a walk-off RBI single with two outs in the 11th inning to propel the St. Louis Cardinals over the visiting Kansas City Royals 5-4 on Friday.
After falling behind by one in the 10th, the Cardinals scored a run in each of the last two innings to secure their third win in four tries. Jordan Walker went 3-for-5 with a two-run home run.
In the top of the 10th, Bobby Witt Jr.’s RBI double off reliever Ryne Stanek gave the Royals a 4-3 lead.
St. Louis got the run back on the first pitch of the bottom of the 10th, as Alec Burleson’s single off Lucas Erceg drove in Thomas Saggese, who began the inning as the automatic runner on second. After Erceg struck out Walker, Nolan Gorman’s infield single placed runners on the corners.
Erceg then retired the next two batters to send the game to the 11th.
After Gordon Graceffo (3-1) tossed a scoreless top of the 11th, Pozo’s two-out single against Steven Cruz (0-1) sealed the win. The Royals dropped their fifth straight.
Dustin May threw six innings for the Cardinals, allowing three runs on four hits, walking four and striking out three.
For Kansas City, Michael Wacha scattered three runs on five hits in six innings, striking out five and walking one.
Neither team advanced past second base until the fourth, when Vinnie Pasquantino worked a one-out walk and Salvador Perez followed with a single to put runners on the corners. Carter Jensen then hit an RBI double to give Kansas City a 1-0 lead.
Two batters later, Isaac Collins’ sacrifice fly doubled the Royals’ edge.
Wacha hit Ivan Herrera with a pitch in the fourth, before Walker crushed a two-run homer – his 13th of the year – to even the score.
In the fifth, Pedro Pages connected on his fourth homer of the season to give the Cardinals a 3-2 lead.
Pasquantino began the sixth with a walk. Jensen and Jac Caglianone both singled to load the bases with one out. Collins then grounded out to tie the score at 3-all.
Daniel Lynch IV relieved Wacha in the seventh, allowing Masyn Winn’s leadoff double and Jose Fermin’s two-out walk. Lynch got JJ Wetherholt to ground out, preserving the tie.
Against Nick Mears in the eighth, Herrera and Burleson began the inning with back-to-back singles. But Walker grounded into a double play, and after Gorman was intentionally walked, Winn struck out to leave two runners on.
