Royals at Cardinals
The St. Louis Cardinals' torrid play at Busch Stadium hasn't missed a beat as the club vies for a three-game sweep of the I-70 Series when it hosts the Kansas City Royals on Sunday afternoon. After breezing to a 4-0 victory in the opener, the Cardinals benefited from Mark Reynolds' solo homer in the fifth inning to post a 3-2 triumph over their Show Me State rival to improve to a majors-best 24-7 at home.
Jason Heyward had an RBI single on Saturday and has nine hits in his last nine games, but is just 2-for-10 in his career versus Sunday starter Chris Young. The right-hander was moved up in the rotation after Kansas City elected to place southpaw Jason Vargas on the 15-day disabled list with a strained left forearm. Young's task could be even tougher as the American League Central-leading Royals have seen their offense take a dip en route to losing 11 of their last 17. Kansas City has scored three runs or fewer in 13 of those contests.
TV: 2:15 p.m. ET, FSN Kansas City, FSN Midwest (St. Louis)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Royals RH Chris Young (5-2, 2.25 ERA) vs. Cardinals RH John Lackey (4-4 3.74)
Young allowed his lone hit in the seventh inning in his last outing on Tuesday, helping Kansas City claim a 2-0 triumph over Minnesota. "He was sharp," manager Ned Yost said after the 36-year-old's 6 1/3-inning performance. "Had that little hop on his fastball. Had that disappearing slider. Mixed in some great changeups. ... He just threw the ball extremely well." Young improved to 1-3 in his career versus St. Louis after scattering six hits over as many innings in a 5-0 victory on May 22.
Lackey was blitzed in his last outing on Monday, matching a career high in runs (10) and setting a season high in hits (12) before exiting after just four innings in an 11-3 setback to Colorado. The rout snapped a two-game winning streak by the 36-year-old, who fell to 3-5 in his career against Kansas City in the previous outing. Lackey permitted three runs on six hits in five innings to take the loss to the Royals on May 23.
WALK-OFFS
1. Kansas City LF Alex Gordon homered for the second time in three outings on Saturday, and is 5-for-8 (.625) in his career versus Lackey.
2. St. Louis C Yadier Molina recorded his second two-hit performance in three games on Saturday after mustering just two hits total in his previous six contests.
3. Royals RF Alex Rios went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts after being shuffled to third in the lineup.