Cardinals' Wong walks to walk-off win over Royals

[August 27, 2020]  Kolten Wong drew a bases-loaded walk to cap a ninth-inning rally and lift the St. Louis Cardinals to a 6-5 victory over the visiting Kansas City Royals on Wednesday night.

The Cardinals trailed 5-2 heading into the bottom of the ninth but scored four times with two outs to steal the game. Tyler O'Neill's game-tying, two-run single was the key hit in the comeback.

Cardinals reliever Alex Reyes (1-0) earned the victory and Randy Rosario (0-1), the eighth Royals pitcher, took the loss.

Royals starting pitcher Jakob Junis allowed two runs on four hits in 3 2/3 innings. Cardinals starting pitcher Dakota Hudson allowed two runs on three hits and three walks in six innings.

Nicky Lopez led off the third inning with a single and Cam Gallagher followed with a two-run homer to put the Royals up 2-0.

The Cardinals got one run back in the bottom of the inning. Wong led off with a single, moved to third on Tommy Edman's hit-and-run single and scored on Paul Goldschmidt's sacrifice fly.

The Cardinals tied the game 2-2 in the fourth inning. After getting hit by a pitch, Matt Carpenter took second on a wild pitch and scored on Dylan Carlson's double.

Ryan McBroom's pinch-hit homer in the eighth inning broke the tie to put the Royals up 3-2.

Paul DeJong dropped a single into right field in bottom of the eighth, and Carpenter drew a walk. Molina grounded into a forceout and O'Neill walked to load the bases for the Cardinals, but Trevor Rosenthal relieved Josh Staumont and struck out Carlson and Wong to end the threat.

Cardinals second baseman Kolten Wong (16) is congratulated by designated hitter Brad Miller (15) after scoring during the third inning against the Kansas City Royals at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports

The Royals expanded their lead to 5-2 in the ninth. Adalberto Mondesi hit a one-out single, stole second and took third on a throwing error. Lopez drew a walk, and Whit Merrifield ripped a two-run double off the glove of left fielder O'Neill.

In the bottom of the ninth, Goldschmidt drew a one-out walk, Brad Miller hit a ground-rule double, and DeJong walked to load the bases.

Rosenthal struck out Max Schrock, then Rosario came on to hit Molina with a pitch to force home a run. O'Neill followed with a two-run single. After a wild pitch moved up the runners, Carlson walked to load the bases, and Wong walked to drive home the winning run.

--Field Level Media

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