Seth Lugo sharp in return as Royals hold off Cardinals

Seth Lugo returned from a scary injury and allowed an earned run over six innings, and Jac Caglianone homered with two RBIs, as the Kansas City Royals held on for their third straight win, 6-5 over the visiting St. Louis Cardinals on Friday night.

Isaac Collins drove home two with one of his two doubles for the Royals, who doubled five more times after posting eight in their 14-6 win over St. Louis on Thursday. Lugo (3-4), meanwhile, gave up five hits and three walks, but just two runs (one earned) in his first start since taking a line drive to the forehead June 10 versus Texas.

Despite playing without injured All-Stars Maikel Garcia (hand) and Bobby Witt Jr. (MCL sprain), Kansas City secured its first winning home series over the Cardinals since 2020.

St. Louis' Michael McGreevy (3-6) allowed five runs and eight hits over five innings. Blaze Jordan's two-RBI single highlighted a three-run ninth for the Cardinals, but Alex Lange got Jose Fermin to ground into a game-ending fielder's choice to earn his fifth save.

Losers of six of nine, St. Louis wasted no time getting to Lugo in the first. Ivan Herrera walked, went to third on Alec Burleson's double into the right-field corner and scored via a sacrifice fly from Jordan Walker (two hits).

A lead-off walk again doomed Lugo in the third. Nathan Church drew the base on balls, moved up on a passed ball and came home when Herrera chopped a single into right field.

Kansas City, though, broke out for four runs in the fourth.

Lane Thomas led off with a double down the left-field line and scored via Caglianone's single. After Caglianone advanced on Salvador Perez's groundout, he came home on Michael Massey's looper into center field. John Rave then walked and both he and Massey scored when Collins one-hopped the left-field wall for a 4-2 Royals lead.

Caglianone extended Kansas City's edge in the fifth with his opposite-field solo shot to left off McGreevy. The Royals made it 6-2 in the sixth on Tyler Tolbert's sacrifice fly.

The Cardinals and Royals are off Saturday due to the Ecuador-Curacao World Cup match at neighboring Arrowhead Stadium. The series finale is Sunday.

--Field Level Media