INTERLEAGUE

Royals score 3 in 10th inning to take down Cards

ROYALS 5, CARDINALS 2 (10)

ST. LOUIS -- Drew Butera doesn't get much playing time.

But the Kansas City Royals backup catcher made the most of his opportunity on Wednesday.

Butera had a two-run single in the 10th inning and the Royals earned a 5-2 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals.

Butera's RBI were his first since May 2. Jon Jay followed with an RBI single as the Royals won their first series since taking three of four from Detroit May 3-6.

"That's a tough spot to be in right there. You don't want to expand. You don't want to chase, and perfect," Royals Manager Ned Yost said. "Didn't try to do too much with it. It was just textbook, clutch hitting right there, just driving the ball up the middle."

Butera was playing just his second game in 10 days. Now in his ninth big-league season, he knows how to stay prepared.

"I knew I needed to get the ball in the outfield so I was looking for something up I could drive," Butera said. "I got a pitch up over the plate."

Salvador Perez hammered a first-pitch fastball by Cardinals starter Michael Wacha for his eighth home run of the season to lead off the second.

Royals starter Jakob Junis gave up 2 runs in 5 innings, while striking out 7.

Blaine Boyer (2-0) pitched a scoreless ninth for the victory. Kelvin Herrera earned his 10th save with a perfect 10th.

Abraham Almonte scored on a sacrifice fly in the sixth to tie it 2-2.

Wacha retired 14 of the first 15 batters he faced. He gave up 2 runs, 1 earned, in 6 2/3 innings.

Bud Norris (1-1) pitched a perfect ninth, but couldn't record an out in the 10th, giving up back-to-back singles to Jorge Soler and Alex Gordon before compounding the issue by committing an error on Alcides Escobar's sacrifice attempt to load the bases ahead of Butera.

"Giving him three days off, (Norris) wanted the ball there," Cardinals Manager Mike Matheny said. "He's our guy. We're going to give it to him."

Francisco Pena capped a two-run second inning with an RBI double, giving the Cardinals a 2-1 lead. Pena had a pair of hits after going 1-for-12 the previous three games.

Cardinals center fielder Tommy Pham robbed Jorge Soler of an extra-base hit with a running catch in the seventh. Pham, who was shading Soler to left-center, made the catch in straightaway center on the warning track right before hitting the wall.

Not to be outdone, Royals left fielder Alex Gordon made a diving catch on Pena's liner in the bottom of the seventh, robbing the Cardinals' catcher of his third hit of the game.

"He was a pull guy, so I was kind of creeping over that way plus I kind of positioned a little bit with the sun so if I had to turn that way the sun was right there," Gordon said.

"I did creep over a little bit, but it was one of those balls that when he hit it I was like in my mind, 'I'm going to catch this,' and you get to that point where it's do or die, that's what it was."

ASTROS 4, GIANTS 1 Justin Verlander got some run support for the first time in nearly a month and led Houston over visiting San Francisco.

INDIANS 1, CUBS 0 Adam Plutko carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning and Andrew Miller provided stellar relief work, helping Cleveland beat host Chicago.

NATIONAL LEAGUE

BREWERS 9, DIAMONDBACKS 2 Travis Shaw hit a three-run home run and Jesus Aguilar had a go-ahead, two-run single during a seven-run fourth inning to help host Milwaukee beat Arizona and send the Diamondbacks to their seventh consecutive loss.

PADRES 3, NATIONALS 1 Christian Villanueva hit a two-run double, Tyson Ross pitched into the seventh inning and visiting San Diego defeated Washington to salvage the finale of a three-game series.

PHILLIES 4, BRAVES 0 Jake Arrieta (4-2) struck out seven in 6 2/3 sharp innings, Carlos Santana’s swinging-bunt broke a scoreless tie and host Philadelphia beat Atlanta.

MARLINS 2, METS 1 J.T. Realmuto and Starlin Castro each hit an RBI single off closer Jeurys Familia in the ninth inning, and visiting Miami rallied past New York.

PIRATES 5, REDS 4 (12) Josh Harrison tripled in the go-ahead run off Dylan Floro (1-1) in the 12th inning — his fourth hit of the game — and Pittsburgh topped host Cincinnati.

AMERICAN LEAGUE

TIGERS 4, TWINS 1 Michael Fulmer won for the first time in four starts, Niko Goodrum ended an 0-for-14 skid with a home run and Detroit stopped a five-game losing streak with a victory over host Minnesota.

RANGERS 12, YANKEES 10 Jurickson Profar had a bases-clearing double to put Texas ahead to stay in a wild, series-clinching victory over visiting New York, which matched a major league record with four more home runs.

ANGELS 5, BLUE JAYS 4 Shohei Ohtani hit a tying two-run single in the ninth inning, Andrelton Simmons added another two-run hit and Los Angeles rallied to beat host Toronto.

RED SOX 4, RAYS 1 Xander Bogaerts sparked a three-run rally in the ninth inning, David Price pitched the bulk of a three-hitter and visiting Boston beat Tampa Bay.

WHITE SOX 11, ORIOLES 1 Dylan Covey (1-1) tossed seven strong innings for his first major league victory, Yoan Moncada and Adam Engel each hit three-run home runs and host Chicago pounded Baltimore.

Sports on 05/24/2018

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