Yordano Ventura struggles early as Cardinals beat Royals 6-1 and avoid sweep

Despite overcast skies and some light rain, the only delay in the Royals’ game against the St. Louis Cardinals game on Sunday was Yordano Ventura’s effectiveness.

The first four Cardinals reached and two scored, setting the stage for their 6-1 victory before 36,342 at Kauffman Stadium.

After those four hitters, Ventura retired the next 14 before Matt Carpenter’s two-run homer in the sixth put things out of reach.

“The one bad pitch he made all day,” Royals manager Ned Yost said.

Despite the sour ending, the eight-game homestand ended with six victories.After winning series against the New York Yankees, the Cincinnati Reds and the Cardinals, the Royals remain in first place at 28-15.

The list of contenders in the American League Central has lengthened. The Minnesota Twins have joined the Detroit Tigers in the chase, and both teams stand three games behind the Royals, who embark on a tour of iconic stadiums, starting with a Memorial Day visit to New York’s Yankee Stadium and a 12:10 p.m. Central start.

The trip continues later in the week at Wrigley Field, where the Royals will face the Chicago Cubs.

The Royals solved some of the game’s top starters over the past week, such as the Yankees’ Michael Pineda and Reds’ Johnny Cueto, but they couldn’t overcome the Cardinals’ Michael Wacha, who improved to a major-league best 7-0.

“Every time he goes out he figures he’s going to win, and that’s a good place to be,” Carpenter said.

All the support Wacha needed was provided four batters into the afternoon, when the Cardinals were off and running, or, rather, walking.

Kolton Wong drew a four-pitch walk and Matt Carpenter followed with free pass, bringing pitching coach Dave Eiland to the mound looking to get things back on track.

“Just trying to get him refocused; he was just missing,” Yost said. “Young guys tend to get a little frustrated.”

It worked, at least when it came to control. Ventura pumped strikes at Jhonny Peralta, who fouled up a couple before sticking his bat in strike zone, only to check his swing. But the ball and bat made enough contact to squirt a single up the middle, scoring Wong.

Matt Adams’ double over center fielder Lorenzo Cain’s head scored Carpenter.

The inning settled down for Ventura, thanks to Salvador Perez’s alertness.

Ventura bounced a pitch, and the ball popped up. Apparently, Peralta believed the ball bounded away and started down the line. But Perez had caught it off the bounce. He fired to Mike Moustakas, and Peralta was tagged out in the rundown.

After that, Ventura retired the next 14 in order.

But in the sixth, right fielder Paulo Orlando froze on Wong’s liner, and it fell for a single. Carpenter followed with a drive into the right field seats to make it 4-1.

Ventura was finished after seven innings and throwing a season-high 114 pitches. He issued only two walks, but they set the game’s tone.

The Cards tacked on two more in the eighth when Alcides Escobar couldn’t pull down Yadier Molina’s bloop with his bare hand in short left field.

The Royals reached Wacha in the fifth. With one out, Alex Gordon lined to center fielder Peter Bourjos, running to his left. Bourjos got there in time but the ball bounced off his glove and was ruled a two-base error.

On the next pitch, Salvador Perez dropped a single over shortstop. Gordon read the ball’s flight beautifully, taking off in a sprint before it landed and scoring easily.

The next scoring opportunity came an inning later. Lorenzo Cain and Eric Hosmer delivered two-out singles and Kendrys Morales, the hero of Friday’s victory with a pair of home runs, drew a full-count walk.

Wacha missed the strike zone twice against Gordon then got him to fly out to short right to end the uprising.

“I missed on a couple of fast balls in and didn’t want to go 3-0 on him,” Wacha said. “I just had to paint the inside corner and luckily, I got it in there enough.”

The Royals had no earlier scoring opportunities. Leadoff runners in the second and fourth innings were erased by double-play grounders. Wacha was in control on a day when Ventura couldn’t find his early.

This story was originally published May 24, 2015 at 4:20 PM with the headline "Yordano Ventura struggles early as Cardinals beat Royals 6-1 and avoid sweep."