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Slumpbuster to the rescue....
Having already secured their first winning season series over the St. Louis Cardinals since 2001, the Kansas City Royals still have plenty to play for the rest of the weekend against their interstate rival.
The surging Royals look for a seventh straight victory when they continue their home set with the Cardinals on Saturday night.
Kansas City (37-43) won 7-2 over St. Louis on Friday night for its fourth straight win over the Cardinals while running their interleague record to 13-3 - tied with Minnesota for the best in the majors.
The Royals, who have won 11 of their last 12 and are 6-1 on a nine-game homestand, are riding their longest winning streak since opening the 2003 season 9-0.
Kansas City, which swept a three-game set from the Cardinals seven years ago, is 16-9 since losing 12 in a row from May 19-30.
Series at a Glance
“We went through a stretch where it was like, `OK, what’s going to happen next?’ It kept going downhill,” Royals third baseman Alex Gordon said. “Now it’s going the other way. Everything’s working well and we’re feeling really positive.”
On Friday, Gordon went 2-for-3 with a homer and three-run double, while David DeJesus was 3-for-5 with two RBIs for Kansas City, which is tied with Cleveland for fourth in the AL Central, 7 1/2 games behind first-place Chicago.
DeJesus extended his hitting streak to 12 games during which he is batting .417 (20-for-48) with 14 RBIs. He’s 7-for-17 with four RBIs against the Cardinals in 2008.
Gordon, meanwhile, has homered twice in his last three games while driving in seven runs in those contests.
After a solid performance from Gil Meche on Friday, the Royals turn to Kyle Davies (3-0, 3.12 ERA) as he looks to bounce back from his most recent start.
Davies allowed five runs and six hits in 1 1-3 innings, but didn’t factor in Kansas City’s 11-10 win over San Francisco on Sunday. The right-hander, who will make his sixth start since being called up from Triple-A Omaha on May 31, gave up a run in seven innings of a 2-1 win at St. Louis on June 17 in his only career start versus the Cardinals.
Troy Glaus went 3-for-4 with a homer and two RBIs on Friday for St. Louis, which has scored three runs or fewer in nine of its last 10 losses and has been outscored 16-6 in four games against Kansas City this season.
“Offensively, we have to get more going,” St. Louis manager Tony La Russa said.
Glaus, who has eight of his 11 home runs in June, is 6-for-14 over his last three contests.
St. Louis’ Albert Pujols went 0-for-2 with two walks in his first game of the season against Kansas City after going 4-for-4 Thursday at Detroit in the return from his stint on the disabled list with a calf injury. Pujols, who played at nearby Maple Woods (Mo.) Community College, is batting .388 with 10 homers and 38 RBIs in 34 games against the Royals.
The Cardinals hope Mitchell Boggs (2-0, 5.40) can maintain his perfect record when he makes his fourth start Saturday. Boggs allowed three runs and five hits in 5 1-3 innings in a 9-3 win at Boston last Saturday.
The right-hander is making his first start against Kansas City.
Having already secured their first winning season series over the St. Louis Cardinals since 2001, the Kansas City Royals still have plenty to play for the rest of the weekend against their interstate rival.
The surging Royals look for a seventh straight victory when they continue their home set with the Cardinals on Saturday night.
Kansas City (37-43) won 7-2 over St. Louis on Friday night for its fourth straight win over the Cardinals while running their interleague record to 13-3 - tied with Minnesota for the best in the majors.
The Royals, who have won 11 of their last 12 and are 6-1 on a nine-game homestand, are riding their longest winning streak since opening the 2003 season 9-0.
Kansas City, which swept a three-game set from the Cardinals seven years ago, is 16-9 since losing 12 in a row from May 19-30.
Series at a Glance
- St. Louis 2
Kansas City 7
Fri, Jun 27 - Final - St. Louis at
Kansas City
Sat, Jun 28 - 7:10 pm ET - St. Louis at
Kansas City
Sun, Jun 29 - 2:10 pm ET
“We went through a stretch where it was like, `OK, what’s going to happen next?’ It kept going downhill,” Royals third baseman Alex Gordon said. “Now it’s going the other way. Everything’s working well and we’re feeling really positive.”
On Friday, Gordon went 2-for-3 with a homer and three-run double, while David DeJesus was 3-for-5 with two RBIs for Kansas City, which is tied with Cleveland for fourth in the AL Central, 7 1/2 games behind first-place Chicago.
DeJesus extended his hitting streak to 12 games during which he is batting .417 (20-for-48) with 14 RBIs. He’s 7-for-17 with four RBIs against the Cardinals in 2008.
Gordon, meanwhile, has homered twice in his last three games while driving in seven runs in those contests.
After a solid performance from Gil Meche on Friday, the Royals turn to Kyle Davies (3-0, 3.12 ERA) as he looks to bounce back from his most recent start.
Davies allowed five runs and six hits in 1 1-3 innings, but didn’t factor in Kansas City’s 11-10 win over San Francisco on Sunday. The right-hander, who will make his sixth start since being called up from Triple-A Omaha on May 31, gave up a run in seven innings of a 2-1 win at St. Louis on June 17 in his only career start versus the Cardinals.
Troy Glaus went 3-for-4 with a homer and two RBIs on Friday for St. Louis, which has scored three runs or fewer in nine of its last 10 losses and has been outscored 16-6 in four games against Kansas City this season.
“Offensively, we have to get more going,” St. Louis manager Tony La Russa said.
Glaus, who has eight of his 11 home runs in June, is 6-for-14 over his last three contests.
St. Louis’ Albert Pujols went 0-for-2 with two walks in his first game of the season against Kansas City after going 4-for-4 Thursday at Detroit in the return from his stint on the disabled list with a calf injury. Pujols, who played at nearby Maple Woods (Mo.) Community College, is batting .388 with 10 homers and 38 RBIs in 34 games against the Royals.
The Cardinals hope Mitchell Boggs (2-0, 5.40) can maintain his perfect record when he makes his fourth start Saturday. Boggs allowed three runs and five hits in 5 1-3 innings in a 9-3 win at Boston last Saturday.
The right-hander is making his first start against Kansas City.
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