How the Kansas City Royals secured a doubleheader sweep of Cardinals in St. Louis

The Kansas City Royals earned some bragging rights Wednesday evening.

Beating the St. Louis Cardinals 8-5 in the nightcap of a split doubleheader at Busch Stadium, the Royals swept the two-game series and won their third consecutive game on their current road trip.

“It’s definitely a confidence booster obviously after two days off and going into a off-day tomorrow,” Royals outfielder MJ Melendez said. “It’s good to get those two wins in the middle of the road trip.”

Royals captain Salvador Perez led the way, hitting his second home of the doubleheader in the nightcap. This time, Perez blasted a 438-foot home run over the left-center field wall. It was his 16th home run of the season.

Perez hit his 15th of the year in the first game of the doubleheader — also in the sixth inning.

Perez’s teammates followed suit in game two. Six Royals collected RBIs, with Melendez also hitting a solo homer in the evening game.

Starting pitcher Michael Wacha welcomed the run support. The right-hander allowed four runs in his return to Busch Stadium (more about that below).

“It was a big crowd out there and everybody was into it,” Wacha said.

The Cardinals tagged Wacha with four runs in five innings. However, he was able to navigate the St. Louis lineup and put KC in position to win. He found success with his changeup especially — the pitch registered 21 swings and seven whiffs, per Baseball Savant.

Wacha turned over the ball to the Royals’ bullpen in the sixth inning. And the KC relief unit allowed just one run across the final four innings.

Royals reliever John Schreiber wriggled out of a seventh-inning jam and Kris Bubic worked a clean inning, as well.

The Royals got an insurance run in the ninth when outfielder Kyle Isbel belted a solo home run. Closer James McArthur then recorded his 17th save after getting his 16th in Wednesday’s matinee game.

“Anytime I can get on base for them (top of the lineup), they are incredible and have been doing it all year,” Isbel said. “Any of us at the bottom of the lineup can just extend and help it out. It’s when things start flowing.”

The Royals improved to 51-43 while the Cardinals fell to 48-44.

Missed previous Royals coverage?

Huge win: Royals take Game 1 of I-70 series doubleheader over Cardinals

Hall of Fame case: Salvador Perez collected his 1500th hit. Will it be enough for Cooperstown?

Here are more notable aspects of Wednesday’s doubleheader Game 2:

Michael Wacha returns to Busch Stadium

Wacha returned to his old stomping grounds on Wednesday. After spending seven seasons in St. Louis, he finally had the chance to face his former team in Busch Stadium.

“It’s definitely a cool experience,” Wacha said. “It was something I was looking forward to since I had left, you know? But I tried not to let too much of that stuff kind of take away from my normal game plan and things like that.”

The veteran pitcher, who is in his first season with the Royals, didn’t disappoint his current team. He scattered seven hits and struck out three.

He allowed a solo homer to Cardinals outfielder Lars Nootbaar in the second inning but recovered to earn his sixth victory of the year.

When he needed to, Wacha was able to work around potential trouble. In the fifth inning, with KC leading by a run, he halted a potentially damaging frame by forcing Nootbaar to ground out.

Nolan Gorman, Alec Burleson and Paul Goldschmidt each added RBIs, but Wacha continued to battle.

“It was a struggle out there for me out there today,” Wacha said. “I would say just too many balls in the middle of the plate. You know, some bad pitches in certain counts. I probably should’ve sequenced them a little better or gone with a different pitch at times.”

Wacha threw 58 of his 84 pitches for strikes, walking just one in his final start before the All-Star break.

“Me and Freddy were working hard back there,” he said. “(I was) able to strand some guys out there at times. The real big guys that did it today was that bullpen picking me up there.”

Royals sweep I-70 series

The Royals picked up their first sweep of the Cardinals in eight seasons. The last time KC swept a two-game series at Busch Stadium was in 2016 (June 29-30).

KC owns a 51-75 all-time record (.404 winning percentage) against St. Louis. These teams will meet again Aug. 9-10 at Kauffman Stadium.

“It’s a lot happier flight and a lot happier off-day,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro said. “Hopefully, we can build on that going to Boston.”

What’s next on the KC Royals’ schedule?

The Royals are off Thursday before beginning their final series before the All-Star break.

This weekend, KC will face the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Stadium with American League Wild Card implications at stake. Both are fighting for the final AL Wild Card spot. Boston has a 1.5-game lead over the Royals at this point.

On Friday, the Royals will send All-Star starter Cole Ragans to the mound. The Red Sox have not named a starter for the series opener.