Royals beat the Cardinals 3-2 in rain-shortened game

The skies were polite on Saturday. They waited until Edinson Volquez finished the top of the sixth inning before drenching Kauffman Stadium. Volquez jogged off the diamond when torrents of rain began to fall, providing meteorological aid to a club that doesn’t need the help, allowing them to defeat the Cardinals, 3-2, in 5 1/2 innings.

The umpires called the game after a 70-minute delay. The forecast looked bleak for the rest of the evening and into Sunday. The Royals and Cardinals may have to finish the first leg of the I-70 Series at a later date. But for now, Kansas City, 28-14, claimed yet another victory.

“It’s a good win,” outfielder Alex Gordon said. “We’ll take it.”

Volquez secured the outcome about 19 minutes before the delay began. With one out in the top of the fifth, two outs away from an official game, Volquez clung to a one-run lead. He had loaded the bases for the second time on the day. He was facing Jhonny Peralta, a dangerous hitter with a history of harming Volquez.

Their encounter lasted only one pitch. It was a 94-mph sinker, low and away, a “perfect pitch,” Volquez said. Peralta rolled it to second baseman Omar Infante. He fed shortstop Alcides Escobar, who avoided the runaway caboose of outfielder Matt Holliday, attempting to break up the double play, and turned two.

“That was the whole game,” Volquez said.

It would not end for another six outs. The Royals benefited from a two-run homer by Gordon in the second and a critical single from Salvador Perez in the fourth. They have now won six of seven games on this homestand. Volquez received credit for a complete game after giving up two runs in his six innings.

Once the Royals grabbed the lead, Volquez admitted he rushed to procure outs. He felt like he was racing the sky, trying to get through five innings before the rain washed away the game. He kept rubbing his hand in the dirt and on a soaked rosin bag to dry himself.

“It was hard to get a good grip,” Volquez said.

The elements were not his only challenge on Saturday. On Friday afternoon, Volquez visited his memory banks to discuss the Cardinals. He spent years dueling them as a member of the Reds. Last year with Pittsburgh, Volquez faced them five times. He harbors respect for their dogged at-bats.

St. Louis vexed him in the second inning. Peralta led off with a double. Volquez nipped the edges of the strike zone against Randal Grichuk and Matt Adams, but still issued two walks. The bases were loaded with none out for All Star catcher Yadier Molina.

Molina chopped a grounder to third base. The ball hopped off the grass and appeared to hit Mike Moustakas in the left clavicle. Moustakas could not turn a double play, but recovered to throw out Molina. Volquez limited the damage to that one run. Moustakas left after four innings due to a clavicle contusion.

Manager Ned Yost indicated Moustakas felt “pretty sore” after the game. He could get Sunday off.

The threat of rain hovered over the evening. The first drops fell in the top of the second. As Volquez was collecting the final two outs, lightning flashed in the distance and a burst of thunder startled the crowd. The rain became steady.

The fortunes of the Royals soon would. Kendrys Morales led off the bottom of the second with a single. Gordon stepped into the box against John Lackey, a pitcher he has hammered in the past. Gordon carried to the plate a .462 batting average against Lackey. He improved to .500 with his next swing.

Lackey offered up a 90-mph fastball. The pitch caught the outside of the plate. Gordon powered it into the Pepsi Porch in right-center field for his fifth homer of the season.

“I was just looking for something to drive,” Gordon said. “I was able to get it, and I put a good swing on it.”

Kansas City added a run as insurance in the fifth. Eric Hosmer punched a double into the left-field corner. He advanced to third on a fly ball to left. The Cardinals elected to intentionally walk Gordon. Perez responded by ripping an RBI single past third baseman Matt Carpenter.

Granted a two-run lead, Volquez nearly crumbled in the fifth. He yielded a trio of singles to led St. Louis cut the advantage to one. With Holliday at the plate, Volquez lost control of a curveball. The pitch hit Holliday.

Inside the dugout, Yost felt gripped by tension. The team had been trying to sneak through five innings with a lead. Now they faced the possibility of falling behind before the heavy weather arrived.

Yet the bullpen mounds remained empty in left field. The game was on the line. Yost decided Volquez could handle the assignment. His assessment was accurate – and Volquez only needed one pitch to prove his manager right. Escobar hung in as Holliday charged him and the Royals foiled their foes.

“I think I made the right pitch,” Volquez said. “And we got a double play.”

This story was originally published May 23, 2015 at 9:25 PM with the headline "Royals beat the Cardinals 3-2 in rain-shortened game."