ST LOUIS — Willson Contreras had an RBI single in the 10th inning to give the St. Louis Cardinals a 6-5 victory over the Kansas City Royals on Thursday in the first game of a day-night doubleheader.
Yohel Pozo scored on a fielder’s choice to tie it for the Cardinals before Contreras singled to left against Carlos Estévez (2-1) to score Lars Nootbaar.
Vinnie Pasquantino singled in a run in the top of the 10th to give the Royals a 5-4 lead.
Cardinals starter Miles Mikolas allowed three runs on eight hits in six innings. JoJo Romero (2-3) allowed a run in one inning.
Noah Cameron continued his string of impressive starts for the Royals with six scoreless innings. He struck out three, walked two and gave up two hits while lowering his ERA to 0.85 in five starts this season.
Jonathan India homered on the second pitch of the game — a 401-foot shot to left-center.
Royals rookie outfielder Jac Caglianone got a pair of firsts out of the way with one swing of the bat Thursday.
Caglianone ripped Mikolas' curveball into the right-field corner for an RBI double that scored Salvador Perez in the fourth inning. It was the first career hit and RBI for the highly touted prospect who was selected sixth overall by Kansas City in the 2024 amateur draft.
“He’s a very decorated pitcher, a veteran and all that, so I knew his command was really good,” Caglianone said after the game. “So, he started off two heaters up, get down 0-2, and luckily, just saw the curveball pop.”
Caglianone also added a nice running catch in right field to rob Alec Burleson of an extra base hit in the fifth in the Royals’ 6-5 loss.
“He tracked that ball really well,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro said. “I mean, it’s hit hard and going towards the line, so it was a really nice play.”
Contreras doubled and scored, and Nolan Arenado scored on Yohel Pozo's sacrifice fly in the seventh to cut the deficit to 3-2.
Iván Herrera’s two-run homer in the eighth inning gave the Cardinals a 4-3 lead. India’s sacrifice fly off Ryan Helsley scored Nick Loftin to tie it in the ninth.
—
