Here’s where the Royals fell short in Saturday’s I-70 Series loss at St. Louis
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Royals lost 4-2 to the Cardinals, marking their sixth loss in a row.
- Kansas City went 1-for-6 with runners in scoring position and left seven on base.
- Noah Cameron took the loss despite a quality start, allowing three runs in six innings.
The Kansas City Royals continue to scuffle on their six-game road trip.
On Saturday, after a weather delay of about an hour, familiar offensive issues resulted in a 4-2 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium — KC’s sixth loss in a row and second straight in this three-game edition of the I-70 Series.
This time, unlike Friday night’s 5-4 defeat in 11 innings, the Royals let a fair number of scoring opportunities slip through their grasp.
“I mean, we need some balls to fall,” Royals first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino said. “We need to get some balls over the fence. (It was) just kind of a combination of everything, right? (We’re) putting the ball in play, not getting the results we want right now.”
Kansas City had a baserunner in seven of Saturday afternoon’s nine innings. The Royals’ best chances came in the second. With the bases loaded but two away, third baseman Maikel Garcia hit into a fielder’s choice.
An inning later, shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. hit a leadoff single. It was another chance to start a potential rally — but Witt was thrown out while attempting to steal second base. And then Vinnie Pasquantino and Salvador Perez went down in succession.
The Royals would finally score in the fifth. Pasquantino hit a two-out, RBI single to tie the game at 1-1. It was just his eighth hit with runners in scoring position (RISP) this season.
“Just trying to create some momentum,” Pasquantino said. “Had some shots today. Not as many as we’d like, but had some shots today.
“Can’t dwell on it too much. I mean, just gotta keep trying to have good at-bats. Just got to make it simple as that, really. ... It feels like we are in one of those ruts where it’s like we’ve gotta scrap for runs.”
The Cardinals added on in the bottom of the fifth, when Victor Scott II and Masyn Winn drove in runs.
Scott hit a grounder to Pasquantino at first with the infield in. Pasquantino gloved the ball and threw it home. But his throw was slightly offline, enabling Cardinals second baseman Thomas Saggese to score.
Winn also hit a sacrifice fly, and all three of those runs were charged to Royals starting pitcher Noah Cameron.
Cameron took the loss but logged a quality start in defeat. The St. Joseph, Missouri, native allowed five hits and three runs and recorded four strikeouts in six innings.
“Just kind of in the strike zone a little bit more,” Cameron said. “Carter (Jensen) called a really good game and we had a good game plan going in. We just attacked hitters. ... I thought we did really well today. Obviously, (they) squeaked some runs through.”
There wasn’t a lot of hard contact off Cameron. He induced 42 swings and 12 whiffs while relying primarily on his fastball and changeup. A pair of sac flies were the difference in the game.
The Royals finished 1 for 6 with RISP and left seven men on base Saturday. They have a .669 team OPS (on-base plus slugging) in such situations this season.
Cardinals right-hander Kyle Leahy earned his fifth victory of the year. He allowed one run across six innings.
“We put some good swings on him ... that we didn’t have anything to show for,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro said. “So I thought there were some real positives with the at-bats. Again, we’re going to give ourselves chances. That’s the best you can do to start out. And then, hopefully, some of them fall in. But the approaches were pretty good.”
Alec Burleson’s late RBI single made it a three-run game. He had two RBIs, one of three Cardinals to drive in runs against Royals’ pitchers on Saturday.
Royals right fielder Jac Caglianone got one run back with a solo homer in the ninth inning.
What’s next: Royals right-hander Stephen Kolek (1-0, 6.75 ERA) will start Sunday’s I-70 Series finale opposite St. Louis righty Andre Pallante (4-3, 4.46 ERA). First pitch is set for 1:15 p.m. Central Time at Busch Stadium.
This story was originally published May 16, 2026 at 4:28 PM with the headline "Here’s where the Royals fell short in Saturday’s I-70 Series loss at St. Louis."
