Molina: "Dumb" to ask about substance on chest protector

Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina and most everyone else at Busch Stadium laughed at the bizarre sight - a ball somehow stuck to his chest protector , in plain view of everybody except him.

But the St. Louis star didn't think it was so funny when asked if a foreign substance helped the thing cling.

"Did I put anything on my chest protector to stick?" Molina said. "That's a dumb question."

Whatever happened, it sure made for strange situation at Busch Stadium. And it was the key play that sent the Chicago Cubs past St. Louis 6-4 Thursday.

The Cardinals led 4-2 in the seventh inning when things turned kooky.

Pinch hitter Matt Szczur led off by striking out on a pitch from Brett Cecil that skipped in the dirt. The ball bounced into Molina's protector and smack, it stayed there.

"I don't know if they've come out with Velcro on the protectors or it's just a fuzzy baseball," Cubs manager Joe Maddon said. "It was definitely Velcro-ed to his chest."

As Molina frantically looked for the ball, Szczur headed toward first base.

"I just took off running," Szczur said. "My first base coach told me it was stuck to his stomach. I thought, `What?'"

By the time Molina looked down and discovered the ball, it was too late, Szczur was safe. The Gold Glove catcher could only smile and fans in sellout crowd roared - really, who'd ever seen such a thing?

"I haven't seen that one before," Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said. "I have no idea what happened there."

Catchers sometimes put pine tar somewhere on their uniforms, often around the shin guards, to help give them a better grip.

Molina was certain about one thing.

"That play changed everything," he said. "If we get that first out, everything changes."

Once Szczur reached on what was scored as a wild pitch, the Cardinals lost their grip on this game.

After a walk, Kyle Schwarber hit a go-ahead, three-run homer. The Cubs added another run later in the inning against Cecil (0-1).

Schwarber, who injured his knee in an outfield collision in the third game last year and missed the rest of the regular season, enjoyed the big hit.

"We celebrated, I made it past the third game this year," Schwarber said. "I turned the horseshoe around. I turned it up so I could make it through."

The World Series champions won two in a row after losing to the Cards on opening night.

John Lackey (1-0) threw six solid innings against his former team and new Cubs closer Wade Davis got his second save.

Addison Russell drove in a pair of runs on groundouts for Chicago.

St. Louis starter Lance Lynn went 5 1-3 innings in his first appearance since Oct. 2, 2015. The right-hander, who'd been out since having Tommy John surgery, gave up two runs and five hits.

SLUMP

NL MVP Kris Bryant went 0 for 4 and struck out twice. He also walked and scored a run. The Cubs slugger is 0 for 13 this season.

TRAINER'S ROOM

Cubs: LHP Brian Duensing remains on the 10-day disabled list with back spasms. He is eligible to come off on Sunday.

Cardinals: OF Stephen Piscotty did not start, but came into the game as a defensive replacement in the sixth inning. Piscotty was hit in the head by a throw from INF Javier Baez while sliding into the plate in a 2-1 loss on Tuesday.

UP NEXT

Cubs: LHP Brett Anderson will face Milwaukee RHP Jimmy Nelson in the first of a three-game set in Milwaukee on Friday. Anderson will be making his Cubs debut after eight seasons with Oakland (2009-2013), Colorado (2014) and the Los Angeles Dodgers (2015-16)

Cardinals: RHP Mike Leake will face Cincinnati LHP Amir Garrett when St. Louis concludes its season-opening homestand with the first of a three games on Friday. Leake has won 10 or more games in four of the last six seasons.

Almora's catch aids Arrieta in Cubs 2-1 win at St. Louis

 Albert Almora Jr. provided a big lift for the Chicago Cubs with a birthday present for his mom.

Almora robbed Matt Adams of a home run and Javier Baez made a terrific sliding stop on Kolten Wong's game-ending grounder, sending Jake Arrieta and the Cubs to a 2-1 victory against the St. Louis Cardinals on Tuesday night.

It looked as if the Cardinals had tied the game in the seventh, but Almora tracked Adams' deep fly ball to the wall and hauled it in with a leaping grab at the top of the fence in center. A pumped-up Almora then celebrated with left fielder Kyle Schwarber as Adams tipped his batting helmet in appreciation of the play.

"Yesterday was my mother's birthday, and I told her, `I'm going to hit you a homer,'" Almora said. "Then I didn't, but then I told her `I didn't hit you one, but I robbed you one,' and she loved it and thought it was pretty funny. I love playing defense, and I love helping out my team."

St. Louis had a runner on first in the ninth when Baez went into short right field to take a hit away from Wong. The Cardinals challenged the bang-bang play, but the call was confirmed.

Arrieta pitched six innings of one-run ball, helping the World Series champions bounce back from a wild 4-3 loss to St. Louis on Sunday night. Willson Contreras hit a tying three-run homer in the ninth inning of the opener, but the Cardinals won it in the bottom half on Randal Grichuk's game-ending single.

Arrieta improved to 8-2 in 14 career starts against St. Louis. Koji Uehara then worked the seventh and Pedro Strop got three outs before Wade Davis finished for his first save since he was acquired in an offseason trade with Kansas City.

Adam Wainwright allowed two runs and three hits in five innings for St. Louis. The right-hander is hoping to bounce back this season after recording a 4.62 ERA last year.

The Cardinals also lost Stephen Piscotty to a head contusion in the fifth, part of a rough inning for the outfielder.

Piscotty reached when he was hit by a pitch from Arrieta. He was hit again by Contreras' throw when he stole second. He then scored from second on Wong's infield hit to the right side of the mound, but he was hit in the head by Baez's throw home.

Baez was charged with two errors on the play. Piscotty, who agreed to a $33.5 million, six-year contract a day earlier, was down on the field for several minutes. He eventually walked off the field.

Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said he would be evaluated for a concussion later Tuesday night and on Wednesday.

"I've never seen (a trip around the bases) like that before," Matheny said.

Chicago jumped in front with two in the fourth. Addison Russell doubled and scored on Jason Heyward's single to center. Contreras then scampered home on Baez's safety squeeze.

ALMORA'S CHANCE

It was Almora's first game of the season. The last time Almora was on the field in a game that mattered, he used some savvy baserunning to help set up the go-ahead run in the 10th inning of Game 7 of the World Series.

Almora and Jon Jay are expected to draw most of the starts in center field after Dexter Fowler signed with the Cardinals over the winter. Almora hit .318 and drove in 16 runs in 23 games during spring training.

MUSICAL CUBS

Ben Zobrist was out of the starting lineup, something manager Joe Maddon said had less to do with early rest for the 35-year-old and more to do with getting Almora in the lineup. "It's too early to worry about days off; I'm just trying to get people involved," Maddon said.

SQUEEZE SURPRISE

Fowler, playing in his second game for St. Louis after leaving the Cubs in the offseason, wasn't surprised by Baez's run-scoring bunt. Fowler has seen that kind of call many times before from Maddon.

"I played over there for two years, and Joe does what Joe does," Fowler said. "It works out a lot of the time."

UP NEXT

With a 90 percent chance of rain in the forecast, the teams are scheduled to close out the series on Wednesday afternoon. St. Louis right-hander Lance Lynn is set to make his debut after missing all of last season following elbow surgery, while Chicago right-hander John Lackey takes the mound after going 11-8 with a 3.35 ERA last season.

Grichuk, Cardinals top Cubs 4-3 in wild opener

 Randal Grichuk hit a two-run homer in the eighth inning and a game-ending RBI single in the ninth, helping the St. Louis Cardinals top the Chicago Cubs 4-3 in a wild prime-time opener on Sunday night.

Jose Martinez sparked the winning rally with a pinch-hit double against Mike Montgomery, who closed out Chicago's World Series championship in November. Yadier Molina then was awarded the first no-pitch intentional walk in major league history, part of baseball's offseason rule changes designed to speed up the game.

With two outs and the bases loaded, Grichuk lined a 1-2 pitch into the gap in left-center for his second career game-ending hit. He was mobbed as he rounded first in the rain, and what was left of a sellout crowd of 47,566 cheered wildly.

The Cardinals appeared set for a tidy 3-0 win before the Cubs rallied in the ninth. Ben Zobrist was hit by a pitch from Seung-hwan Oh and Jason Heyward singled before Willson Contreras hit a drive to left for a tying homer.

Before the dramatic finish, the night belonged to St. Louis right-hander Carlos Martinez, who retired 12 in a row and 18 of 19 over one stretch against the defending champions. The ace right-hander struck out 10 and walked none in 7 1/3 innings in his first start on opening day.

Jon Lester kept Chicago in the game with five effective innings despite not having his best stuff. Kyle Schwarber reached three times in his first game as the leadoff hitter since Dexter Fowler left the Cubs for an $82.5 million, five-year contract with the Cardinals.

Martinez departed with runners on first and second and the Cardinals clinging to a 1-0 lead. He was saluted with a standing ovation.

Oh then came in and hit Schwarber with a pitch, loading the bases as it started to rain. But Oh retired NL MVP Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo on two fly balls to right, ending the inning.

St. Louis went 86-76 last year and missed the playoffs for the first time since 2010, but the winter additions of Fowler and reliever Brett Cecil ramped up the optimism for this season. The Cardinals got another positive jolt when they announced a new contract for Molina earlier in the day that runs through the 2020 season.

The sellout crowd at Busch Stadium roared its approval when Molina was introduced before the game, prompting the catcher to doff his cap twice as the cheers continued.

He got another standing ovation when he came to the plate for the first time in the second inning, and there were chants of "Ya-di! Ya-di!" before he grounded a single back up the middle.

Fowler also heard all cheers all night long, and he used his legs to get St. Louis on the board in the third. He reached on an infield single, scampered over to third on Aledmys Diaz's single to center and scored on Matt Carpenter's fly ball to right.

MORE ON MOLINA

Molina made his 13th consecutive start on opening day, third most in franchise history behind Stan Musial (18) and Lou Brock (15), according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

TRAINER'S ROOM

Cubs: LHP Brian Duensing was placed on the 10-day disabled list with lower back spasms. The move was made retroactive to Thursday.

UP NEXT

Following a day off, right-handers Jake Arrieta of the Cubs and Adam Wainwright of the Cardinals get the ball on Tuesday night. Arrieta went 18-8 with a 3.10 ERA in 31 starts last year. Wainwright is looking to bounce back after going 13-9 with a 4.62 ERA last season.

Cubs pump it up vs. Cards as streak goes to 11

Dog days of August? Not for the Cubs, who have yet to lose in 10 games this month. Chicago jumped on St. Louis ace Adam Wainwright for seven runs in the first two innings en route to its 11th straight win, a 13-2 victory on Friday afternoon at Wrigley Field. It's the first time the Cubs have won 11 in a row since a 12-game streak in 2001.

Matt Szczur recorded his first career multihomer game, rookie Willson Contreras belted a three-run homer, Javier Baez added a two-run shot and Jorge Soler hit a solo jack to backJake Arrieta, who scattered four hits over 5 2/3 innings.

"What's unique about the group of guys we have is we have a lot of youth who have continued to learn on a really fast pace," Arrieta said.

The fire alarm went off in the Cubs' clubhouse after the game, but it had nothing to do with the red-hot streak the team is on. The fog machine in the celebration room apparently triggered the alarm.

"It happens every night," Arrieta said. "I'm surprised the alarm doesn't go off more often."

The Cubs are a season-high 32 games over .500 for the first time since finishing last year at 97-65, and they have a 14-game lead in the National League Central. This is Chicago's largest lead this late in the season since a 14 1/2-game cushion on Sept. 15, 1929. That year, the Cubs were the NL champs, but they lost to the Philadelphia Athletics in the World Series, 4-1.

Wainwright was lifted after two innings, matching the shortest outing of his career. The Cardinals have lost nine of their past 13 games.

"We're disappointed in how this season has gone," Wainwright said. "We're not like we should [be]. We should play a lot better than we have leading up to this point. We haven't played like we can."

MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Hail, Szczur: Cubs manager Joe Maddon gave a few regulars the day off after Thursday's extra-inning night game, and Szczur made his third start in center field. He made the most of it. Szczur doubled to lead off the Chicago first and scored on the first of two RBI doubles byKris Bryant. Szczur then led off the sixth with his fourth homer and added a two-run blast in the seventh. He hit one homer in 47 games last season with the Cubs.

Dexter Fowler, who Szczur replaced in center and at the leadoff spot for the day, got some good-natured ribbing about being replaced.

"I know my role," said Szczur, who will be back on the bench Saturday. "I'm going to stay in my lane. I show up to work every day and I try to be the best every day, no matter where I'm positioned at or what spot I'm in." More >

Early exit: Five days after allowing six runs before he recorded his sixth out, Wainwright surrendered seven in his two frames against Chicago. But unlike that last start in which he rebounded to finish six innings, Wainwright would not be given that chance on Friday. The only other time in his career that he had been pulled after two innings was on Aug. 28, 2013, after allowing nine runs to the Reds. The seven earned runs allowed matched a season high for Wainwright.

"I hadn't done anything to warrant him to want me to keep pitching," Wainwright said. "That's what I deserved. That was terrible. That was pathetic. I just let the team down." More >

Soler power: Friday was Soler's second start in the outfield since he was activated from the disabled list, and he delivered an RBI single in the second and a solo homer in the sixth. The Cubs are counting on the outfielder to find the same groove he did in the postseason last October, when he batted .474 in seven games.

Home run issues: In an effort to save his bullpen, Cardinals manager Mike Matheny stuck with reliever Jerome Williams, despite how ugly things got when Williams covered the final three innings of the game. Williams became the fourth reliever in franchise history to surrender four home runs in a game. It's an infamous piece of history that he now shares with Brett Tomko (June 14, 2003), Todd Burns (Aug. 24, 1993) and Johnny Stuart (June 22, 1925). Williams entered the day not having allowed a run in four appearances with St. Louis since being called up on July 25.

"He's got to wear it," Matheny said of Williams. "He knew coming in that he was going to have a versatile job description, and part of that was going to be pitching when we just needed innings. And we needed innings."

QUOTABLE
"We know what we're capable of. Regardless of how many games you win the division by, it's a good thing, but once you get to October, the slate is clean. That's the focus. Obviously, we'll try to continue to play good baseball up until that point, clinch the division and go from there. We've done a really nice job." -- Arrieta

"When you pull your starter after two and you have your starting catcher coming out after four [innings], it's obvious that you just have to lick your wounds, fight your way [through], maybe give some guys an opportunity to get [the team] back into it. It's just one of those games you try to make the most of and find some positives." -- Matheny

SOUND SMART WITH YOUR FRIENDS
Stephen Piscotty's homer off Arrieta in the fifth was the first served up by the right-hander at Wrigley Field since Ryan Howard connected for the Phillies on July 25, 2015.

The Cubs' five home runs matches their season high. They've reached that mark three other times, most recently on June 27 at Cincinnati.

WHAT'S NEXT
Cardinals: Luke Weaver, ranked by MLB Pipeline as the organization's No. 2 prospect, will be making his Major League debut as the Cardinals try to halt the Cubs' winning streak on Saturday. Weaver, who steps in for an injured Michael Wacha, posted a 1.30 ERA in 13 Minor League starts this season.

Cubs: There's no place like Wrigley Field for Kyle Hendricks, who will start Saturday. He's 8-1 with a 1.19 ERA at home, the best home ERA in the Majors. He has the second-best ERA in the big leagues at 2.17, and since June 19, he's 7-1 with a 1.06 ERA. First pitch is scheduled for 1:20 p.m. CT.

Walk-off walk gives Cubs 10th straight win

Anthony Rizzo drew a walk with the bases loaded and two outs in the 11th to lift the Cubs to a 4-3 victory Thursday night over the Cardinals in front of 40,597 at Wrigley Field. For the first time since 1908, the Cubs have opened the month of August with a 9-0 record. And that year, as most Cubs fans know, was the last time the franchise won the World Series.

The Cubs now have a 13-game lead over the Cardinals in the Central Division, and a 10-game winning streak, the first since a 12-game run from May 19-June 2, 2001.

"It's not easy to beat them, as today showed," Rizzo said.

With the game tied at 3 in the 11th, rookie Willson Contreras singled off Zach Duke, and pinch-hitter Jorge Soler reached on an infield single. One out later, Dexter Fowler walked to load the bases and one out later, Rizzo drew a walk for the game-winner.

Duke, as well as other Cardinal teammates who watched video of the pitch afterward, believed it should have been called strike two.

"It's a good pitch," Duke said. "PITCHf/x had it in the box. It's unfortunate. It's tough. We battled really hard, never gave in. That's a frustrating way to lose."

Said Rizzo: "It was a good pitch. I thought it was a little in. I'm on top of the plate. I'm looking right there."

The Cardinals loaded the bases in the top of the 11th against Mike Montgomery, but he struck out Matt Carpenter and picked up the win in relief.

"We had a shot just like they had, and they were able to pull something off," said Cardinals manager Mike Matheny. "A lot of things went right that allowed us to keep in there and have a chance for a big hit. We had trouble coming through."

The Cubs tied the score at 2 in the sixth on a strange two-run single by Chris Coghlan, who had tried to call time before the pitch from Carlos Martinez, but it wasn't granted. Coghlan lined the ball to right, and David Ross added a bunt single to take a 3-2 lead. But Randal Grichuk came off the bench to hit a solo homer with two outs in the seventh, the 13th pinch-hit blast this season by the Cardinals, to make it 3-3.

With both bullpens depleted, both managers will be looking for deep starts from Friday's starters, St. Louis ace Adam Wainwright and reigning National League Cy Young Award winner Jake Arrieta for Chicago.

MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Time out: With the bases loaded in the sixth, Coghlan hit his two-run single to tie the score at 2. Jason Heyward then scored on Ross' bunt single.
   
"I didn't hear [plate umpire Ron Kulpa] give me time," Coghlan said. "I was like, 'Time,' and I went to put my hand to say time and I didn't hear him say anything. He looked up, and I saw he wasn't going to give it to me.

"It's crazy -- that swing was better than the swing I took before."

Back with a bang: Grichuk, summoned from Triple-A earlier in the day, took Travis Wooddeep in the seventh inning. The pinch-hit blast put the Cardinals one away from tying the Major League record of 14 set by the D-backs and Giants in 2001. Before being sent down to the Minors on Aug. 2, Grichuk had been in a 3-for-26 rut, with 15 strikeouts and no extra-base hits.

"Anytime you can go up there the first AB back and have a positive AB, it definitely feels good," Grichuk said.

Penmanship: Aroldis Chapman retired the Cardinals on three pitches in the ninth, with some help from third baseman Javier Baez, who caught back-to-back line drives by Jedd Gyorko and Greg Garcia.

In their own way: The Cardinals have hurt themselves repeatedly this season with mistakes in the field and on the bases, and Thursday was no exception. Martinez inexplicably cut off a throw to the plate just feet in front of Yadier Molina, who appeared to have a chance to tag out Rizzo as he tried to score on Coghlan's two-run single. An inning later, Gyorko was picked off first just ahead of Grichuk's home run. And the seventh ended with Carpenter being easily thrown out at home trying to score from first on a double.

"It was my bad," Martinez, speaking through a translator, said of his unnecessary cutoff. "I should have backed it up at home plate, and I didn't. I never thought he was going to [try to score]."

INJURY REPORT
Holliday exited the game in the 10th inning after being hit on the right hand by a 94-mph fastball from Montgomery and learned soon after that the pitch had fractured his right thumb. Holliday will be placed on the disabled list Friday.

UPON FURTHER REVIEW
The Cardinals were unsuccessful in trying to challenge a leadoff single by Kris Bryant in the 10th. Bryant hit a grounder to Carpenter, who then tried to beat Bryant to the bag. Carpenter slid feet first as Bryant went in head first, and Bryant was called safe by first-base umpire Chris Conroy. The call stood following a one-minute, 36-second review.

WHAT'S NEXT
Cardinals: Wainwright, 10-1 in his career at Wrigley Field, draws the start for St. Louis on Friday at 1:20 p.m. CT. Wainwright is coming off an outing in which he allowed six runs in the first two innings, but he owns the highest winning percentage of any pitcher (minimum 10 decisions) in Wrigley Field history.

Cubs: Arrieta, who is 1-1 vs. the Cardinals this season, will start Friday in the second game of this four-game series. Arrieta has a 1.71 ERA in 10 starts at Wrigley Field. He's coming off a win against the A's in which he gave up three hits over eight scoreless innings. First pitch will be 1:20 p.m. CT..

Brewers trying to reverse course vs. Cardinals

The Cardinals have not lost a series to the Brewers in more than two years, but Milwaukee will look to change that when it kicks off a three-game series with the Redbirds at Busch Stadium on Friday.

Since Milwaukee took two out of three on the road in April 2014, 25 of the past 38 games played between the National League Central opponents have gone St. Louis' way. In recent history, the Cardinals have taken two out of three games in both series played between the two teams this season. St. Louis is outscoring the Brewers, 38-13, across the six games.

The Cards could also regain the services of two key bats in the lineup. Stephen Piscotty bruised his left ankle on Wednesday sliding after a ball in right field and wasn't in the starting lineup on Thursday. Rookie Aledmys Diaz could return to his starting shortstop spot on Friday after fouling a ball off his right eye on Monday.

Matt Garza will take the mound for his fourth start of the season for the Brewers. The right-hander displayed good command in each of his first two starts, but he surrendered three walks, 10 baserunners and four runs over six innings while picking up the win in his last start.

Jaime Garcia is scheduled to start for the Cardinals. The left-hander gave up five runs over 5 2/3 innings in his last start and posted a 5.40 ERA and a 1.77 WHIP with a .347 batting average against over five starts in June. Garcia made his best start of the season, however, against the Brewers on April 14, when he threw a one-hit shutout.

Things to know about this game

• Garza's season-high pitch count in a game is 87 (June 14), but look for the Brewers to be willing to stretch out that total on Friday. Garza missed the first two months of the season with a right lat strain, and he said after his last start that he felt strong enough to go deeper in a game.

• Brewers left fielder Ryan Braun is batting .365 with a 1.081 OPS and a 181 wRC+ against left-handed pitchers this season, but Garcia has had the six-time All-Star's number in his career. Braun is 13-for-57 (.228) with five extra-base hits, two walks and nine strikeouts against Garcia.

• Look for Jhonny Peralta to be in the St. Louis lineup Friday. In his career against Garza, he is 17-for-37 (.459) with two homers and five RBIs. In 15 at-bats against Garza, Matt Adams has a 1.429 OPS.

Kendrys' mammoth HR helps Royals win I-70 Series

The Cardinals' home skid extended to seven on Thursday night, as the Royals retained I-70 Series bragging rights with a 4-2 victory at Busch Stadium. The win was punctuated by another big night from Kendrys Morales, who finished 12-for-16 in the four games.

Morales logged a pair of doubles -- the second of which pushed the Royals ahead, 3-1, in the sixth -- and then added breathing room again with a 456-foot, according to Statcast™, solo homer off reliever Tyler Lyons in the eighth. The homer, Morales' 11th, was deflating for the Cardinals, who had previously twice pulled to within one run of Kansas City's lead.

"He's sure picking us up," Royals manager Ned Yost said of Morales. "He's on fire offensively and doing a very solid job in the outfield for us."

The Royals took advantage of some shoddy St. Louis defense early to build a lead against starter Mike Leake. The right-hander finished seven innings, but watched his record drop to 5-6 with the lack of run support.

"I felt like there were a couple pitches I would like to take back," Leake said. "We're chugging along. We're trying to fight."

The Cardinals tallied two hits -- solo homers from Brandon Moss and Jhonny Peralta -- but were also unable to take advantage of Royals starter Chris Young's command troubles. Young walked six in a 91-pitch, four-inning start, but was hurt only by Moss' homer.

"I wasn't missing as much as it seemed," Young said. "But the main thing is we won. I left with the lead, and that's what you want to do."

With the win, the Royals remained six games behind the American League Central-leading Indians.

"It's a good way to start the road trip," Young said. "And we took three of four from the Cardinals and that's a pretty good team over there. Hopefully we can build on it."

The Cardinals, now 15-23 at home, completed their first losing month (12-13) since June 2012. Their seven-game home losing streak is the longest in franchise history since 1983.

"I would say that we haven't hit our stride," Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said. "It's all there, and it's just a matter of us continuing to work. .... When we have games that don't look like what we want them to look like, we can't buy into the fact that that's who we are because that's not. I know we have it in us."

MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
No slowing Mo: Morales continued his torrid hitting. He came into the game hitting .472 in his last 14 starts (25-for-53) and promptly doubled down the left-field line leading off the fourth. Morales, with Alex Gordon on second and one out in the sixth, raked a double off the right-field wall that gave the Royals a 3-1 lead. Morales saved his best for last -- he unleashed a blast that bounced off the facade of the third deck in left. Cardinal officials also estimated it at 456 feet, tying it for the longest homer by an opponent at the new Busch Stadium. Statcast™ had the homer measured with a 115.6 mph exit velocity. More >

Morales started the month with a .193 average. He's now at .262.

"I haven't had a streak like this in the big leagues," Morales said through interpreter Pedro Grifol. "It feels good."

Indefensible defense: The Cardinals' defense struggled in all three losses to the Royals this week. It was particularly porous on Thursday, as mistakes in the field helped the Royals to their first three runs. First-inning errors by Peralta and Brayan Pena helped gain a lead without recording a hit. Peralta's inability to finish a catch on a fly ball to left in the second led to another run. Then an errant pickoff throw preceded the Royals' sixth-inning tally. It was the Cardinals' sixth three-error game of the season.

"I know our guys hold themselves to a high level of expectation," Matheny said. "Some of the plays that happened aren't in those expectations. We have to continue to figure out how to get it right on a consistent basis."

That's what speed do: The Royals clearly came into the game wanting to run on their former catcher Pena. In the first inning, after reaching on an error, Whit Merrifield took off for third in an attempted steal. He made it and scored on Pena's throwing error. In the second,Alcides Escobar singled with two out, stole second base and scored on Jarrod Dyson's popup to short left that was ruled a double.

"We were just aggressive," Yost said. "We look for spots where we think we can make it."

Lopsided matchup: Moss has crushed Young throughout his career, and he added another monstrous blast to that matchup history. Moss improved to 6-for-20 with five homers vs. Young when he belted a solo homer that Statcast™ estimated to travel 454 feet. According to Statcast™, the homer became the second longest hit at Busch Stadium this season -- until Morales' blast passed it four innings later.

"Once you get used to him, I see him well," Moss said. "That first at-bat against him is always different because he's so tall, but he actually dips down and throws the ball uphill. He's a very unique pitcher, and it takes some time to get used to him."

QUOTABLE
"I'm very embarrassed about my performance today, but I have to pick myself up and keep working and try to do my best next time. I was ready, but things didn't work out my way." --Pena, on committing a throwing error in the first inning of his first start this season

WILD REVIEW
The Royals challenged an out call at first on a potential double-play grounder hit by Salvador Perez in the sixth. Cards second baseman Matt Carpenter bobbled the throw at the bag as he made his turn. Perez didn't run hard to first and Carpenter had time to still throw him out, or so the Cards thought. The play was overturned and Perez was safe -- that led to Matheny's ejection for then arguing with home-plate umpire and crew chief Mike Everitt.More >

WHAT'S NEXT
Royals: Right-hander Ian Kennedy (6-6, 3.96 ERA) gets the ball on Friday at 6:05 p.m. CT for the opener of a three-game set against the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park. Kennedy pitched seven innings against the Astros last Sunday and gave up one run and three hits while striking out 11.

Cardinals: Left-hander Jaime Garcia (5-6, 4.09) will get the start on Friday at 7:15 p.m. CT when the Cardinals open a three-game series against the Brewers at Busch Stadium. In two starts this season against the Brewers, Garcia gave up two runs in 14 innings.