Beltran has 3 RBIs, Cardinals beat Royals 11-8

[June 25, 2012]  KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) -- Carlos Beltran had three RBIs, and Matt Holliday and Allen Craig each drove in two runs, powering the St. Louis Cardinals to an 11-8 victory Sunday and their first three-game sweep in Kansas City since 2009.

Mike Moustakas had two home runs for the Royals, who gave up 41 hits and 30 runs to their state rivals in the three games. The previous weekend in St. Louis, the Royals won two out of three.

Beltran gave the Cardinals an early lead with a three-run homer in the first, lining Jonathan Sanchez's 0-2 pitch 389 feet over the fence for his 20th home run after Craig doubled and Holliday walked.

Beltran is tied with Milwaukee's Ryan Braun for the NL lead. The three RBIs boosted his total to 56, one more than league-leader Andre Ethier had prior to the Dodgers' game at the Angels. For the three-game series between the state rivals, Beltran had five hits and eight RBIs.

Moustakas, the second overall pick in the 2007 draft, hit a two-run, 442-foot shot off Lance Lynn in the first inning and led off the fourth with a 387-foot shot for his first multihomer game. He also had a single and three RBIs.

In the second, Holiday hit an RBI double that that also put Allen Craig on third, allowing him to make it 5-2 when Sanchez uncorked a wild pitch.

With the Cardinals leading 7-6 in the eighth, Tim Collins (4-2) intentionally walked Rafael Furcal, loading the bases with one out. Craig then lined a two-run single into center and Daniel Descalo went from first to third when Jarrod Dyson bobbled the ball for an error. Holliday's sacrifice fly made it 11-6. Collins went 1 2-3 innings and was charged with five runs, four earned, on three hits and three walks. The Cardinals drew nine walks altogether.

Victor Marte (1-1) got two outs in the sixth and faced one batter in the seventh for the win.

Cardinals starter Lynn, bidding to move into a tie for the NL lead with his 11th victory, went 5 1-3 innings and gave up nine hits and six runs, including three home runs.

Moments after Jeff Francoeur's solo homer in the fourth made it 5-4, Brayan an Pena hit a line shot right off the back of the 6-foot-5 right-hander for a single. Lynn continued after tossing a few test pitches, and one out later gave up Dyson's RBI triple that tied it 5-all.

Yadier Molina's home run made it 6-5 in the sixth. In the seventh, Holliday walked, stole second and made it 7-6 on David Freeze's RBI single. Billy Butler had a two-run home run for KC in the ninth.

Sanchez gave up only four hits in 5 2-3 innings but walked six, allowed two home runs and threw a wild pitch while allowing six runs.

NOTES: Royals 1B Eric Hosmer had the day off and was replaced by Billy Butler. ... Beltran's homer came exactly eight years after his previous home run in Kauffman Stadium, in his final game as a Royal. He's one homer shy of 200. ... Moustakas joined Butler as the only Royals player with two-homer games this season. ... The Cardinals lead the series 42-30.

[Associated Press]

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