Hammel ends winless skid as Royals top Cards

[May 23, 2018]  Jason Hammel picked up his first win of the season, and Alex Gordon and Salvador Perez each homered as the Kansas City Royals topped the St. Louis Cardinals 5-1 Tuesday at Busch Stadium.

Hammel (1-5) was winless in his first nine starts this season, but he delivered seven strong innings Tuesday to help the Royals snap a three-game slide. He scattered nine hits, allowing only one run with six strikeouts and no walks.

Gordon and Alcides Escobar each had three hits for the Royals, and Jon Jay added two hits. Yairo Munoz went 4-for-4 to lead the Cardinals, and Marcell Ozuna finished 3-for-4.

The Cardinals grabbed a 1-0 lead by executing a double steal in the first inning, with Jose Martinez coming home from third base as Ozuna took second.

Gordon tied the score in the second inning, smashing his fourth home run of the season to center field.

The Royals grabbed the lead in the third inning. Whit Merrifield drew a walk and advanced to second on a single from Gordon. Escobar delivered a two-out double to left field to bring home Merrifield.

Perez led off the sixth inning with his seventh home run to extend the Kansas City lead to 3-1.

Jay provided some insurance with a two-run single in the ninth inning off St. Louis reliever Greg Holland.

 Cardinals starting pitcher Luke Weaver (7) pitches during the first inning against the Kansas City Royals at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Scott Kane-USA TODAY Sports

Perez also made his mark on defense behind the plate, twice gunning down Munoz trying to steal second base.

Cardinals starter Luke Weaver (3-4) pitched well but took the loss. He surrendered three runs on seven hits in seven innings. He struck out eight and walked one.

Royals relievers Brad Keller and Kelvin Herrera each pitched a scoreless inning in relief as Kansas City beat the Cardinals for the first time in the past six meetings.

Right-hander Michael Wacha is slated to start for the Cardinals in Wednesday's series finale. Kansas City will counter with right-hander Jakob Junis.

--Field Level Media

[© 2018 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.]

Copyright 2018 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.  Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.