St. Louis (46-36) at Kansas City (37-44)

TV: KSDK 5 | Radio: KTRS 550 2:10 pm ET Kauffman Stadium TV: FSN-HD | Radio: KMBZ 980
stl

Ludwick showing signs of rebound

Matthew Leach / MLB.com
After sitting out of Wednesday's game in order to get a breather, Ryan Ludwick snapped back against the Royals, drilling a single on Friday and a double on Saturday, as he gradually works his way back from a recent slump.
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Cardinals probable pitcher

Braden Looper

  • #41 RHP
  • (9-5) 4.22 ERA
Cardinals: Looper found the going a bit tough against an extremely potent Tigers lineup, but he still almost came out of it with a quality start. He's going well, and he pitched an excellent game against this same Royals club in St. Louis earlier in June. Looper is 5-2 with a 3.91 ERA away from Busch Stadium, and he has walked just four batters in 46 road innings this year.
  W-L ERA IP BB SO AVG
Career 55-49 3.91 878.1 286 503 .267
Season 9-5 4.22 96.0 22 42 .283
June 3-1 2.67 33.2 4 15 .242
Vs. Kansas City 0-0 1.29 7.0 0 0 .200

Series at a Glance

Standings - 06/29/2008 W L PCT GB Home Away
St. Louis Cardinals (NL Central) 46 36 .561 3.5 23-17 23-19
Kansas City Royals (AL Central) 37 44 .457 8.0 19-20 18-24
Stats - 06/29/2008 AVG R HR RBI SB SO ERA IP H BB SO
STL .272 379 82 358 33 485 4.07 738.1 750 254 465
KC .262 329 57 308 41 495 4.36 719.0 729 254 523
kc

Bannister eyes next quality day game

Mark Dent / MLB.com
Brian Bannister, who is 3-0 with a 3.41 ERA in the month of June, has been at his best in the daylight this season and he'll get another chance to shine on Sunday in the Royals' afternoon finale against the Cardinals at Kauffman Stadium.
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Royals probable pitcher

Brian Bannister

  • #19 RHP
  • (7-6) 4.47 ERA
Royals: Bannister, in his previous six starts, had walked just six batters. So it was highly irregular when he walked six in the first five innings on Monday night against the Rockies. That matched his career high. He survived, however, and went seven innings for the victory. Bannister had trouble controlling his pitches on the third-base side of home plate, a glitch he'll surely be working on. On June 18 at St. Louis, he beat the Cardinals and held them to two runs in seven innings. He's 2-0 against them in his career.
  W-L ERA IP BB SO AVG
Career 21-16 4.12 301.2 92 152 .254
Season 7-6 4.47 98.2 26 56 .267
June 3-0 3.41 31.2 9 15 .263
Vs. St. Louis 1-0 2.57 7.0 0 1 .346

Cardinals hitters vs Brian Bannister

  2008 2003-2007
Hitter AVG AB HR RBI AVG AB HR RBI

Royals hitters vs Braden Looper

  2008 2003-2007
Hitter AVG AB HR RBI AVG AB HR RBI
Anderson, Josh - - - - .333 3 0 0
Aviles, Mike .000 3 0 0 .000 4 0 0
Betancourt, Yuniesky - - - - - - - -
Bloomquist, Willie - - - - - - - -
Buck, John .333 3 0 1 .167 6 0 1
Butler, Billy - - - - - - - -
Callaspo, Alberto - - - - - - - -
DeJesus, David .000 2 0 0 .000 3 0 0
Fields, Josh - - - - - - - -
Getz, Chris - - - - - - - -
Gordon, Alex .333 3 0 0 .250 4 0 0
Guillen, Jose .000 3 0 0 .100 10 0 0
Hernandez, Luis - - - - - - - -
Hulett, Tug - - - - - - - -
Jacobs, Mike - - - - .167 12 0 1
Ka'aihue, Kila - - - - - - - -
Lisson, Mario - - - - - - - -
Maier, Mitch - - - - - - - -
Pena, Brayan - - - - - - - -

LaRue comes through for Redbirds (47-36) (37-45)

Cardinals 9, Royals 6

Big day for backstop

Matthew Leach / MLB.com
Jason LaRue saved a run in the bottom of the first in a collision, then slammed a two-run homer in the second and a two-run triple in the fifth. Albert Pujols added a two-run shot of his own in the sixth inning. After Braden Looper scuffled early, the bullpen held off the Royals.

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Series at a Glance

 
Jason LaRue holds on to the ball after colliding with David DeJesus. (Ed Zurga/AP)

Bannister falters

Mark Dent / MLB.com
Brian Bannister couldn't control the Cardinals' bats, giving up seven runs. The Royals offense managed to knock St. Louis starter Braden Looper out of the game in the fourth, but it was stifled by a bevy of bullpen arms. David DeJesus is day-to-day after a first-inning collision.
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Cardinals 9, Royals 6

St. LouisABRHRBIBBSOLOBAVG
Schumaker, LF5120000.304
Miles, 3B3120100.321
Pujols, DH4222113.356
Ankiel, CF5121013.258
Ludwick, RF4110101.285
Duncan, 1B5021001.238
Kennedy, 2B2201201.264
LaRue, C4124002.241
Ryan, SS4010001.285
Totals3691495212 

BATTING
2B: Pujols (16, Bannister), Schumaker (15, Bannister), Ankiel (16, Gobble).
3B: LaRue (1, Bannister).
HR: LaRue (3, 2nd inning off Bannister, 1 on, 2 out), Pujols (17, 6th inning off Peralta, 1 on, 1 out).
TB: Schumaker 3; Miles 2; Pujols 6; Ankiel 3; Ludwick; Duncan 2; LaRue 7; Ryan.
RBI: LaRue 4 (11), Ankiel (38), Duncan (19), Kennedy (20), Pujols 2 (45).
2-out RBI: LaRue 4.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Ankiel 2; LaRue 2; Ryan.
S: Miles.
SF: Kennedy.
Team LOB: 7.

BASERUNNING
SB: Schumaker (6, 2nd base off Gobble/Buck).
CS: Ryan (2, 2nd base by Bannister/Buck).

FIELDING
PB: LaRue (1).
Outfield assists: Schumaker (DeJesus, D at home).
 
Kansas CityABRHRBIBBSOLOBAVG
DeJesus, D, LF0000100.316
  German, LF4121001.171
Aviles, M, SS4010114.318
Gordon, 3B4000127.260
Guillen, DH5010023.280
Grudzielanek, 2B5341002.308
Teahen, RF5021023.257
Gload, 1B4111011.263
Buck, C2000310.246
Gathright, CF4121014.246
  a-Butler, PH1000000.262
Totals38613561025 

a-Popped out for Gathright in the 9th.

BATTING
2B: Grudzielanek 2 (18, Perez, C, Isringhausen), Teahen (13, Isringhausen).
TB: German 2; Aviles, M; Guillen; Grudzielanek 6; Teahen 3; Gload; Gathright 2.
RBI: Gathright (15), German (6), Gload (16), Teahen (27), Grudzielanek (15).
2-out RBI: Grudzielanek.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Grudzielanek; Guillen; Gordon 2; Gathright 2; Teahen.
SF: Gload.
Team LOB: 12.

FIELDING
DP: (Gordon).
 
St. LouisIPHRERBBSOHRERA
Looper 3.16324204.26
Perez, C (W, 2-0)1.12111103.93
Springer 0.10000102.16
Isringhausen 1.22111405.72
McClellan (H, 17)0.22110002.66
Franklin (S, 11)1.21000202.82
 
Kansas CityIPHRERBBSOHRERA
Bannister (L, 7-7)4.29774114.88
Peralta 0.22220016.00
Gobble 2.02001007.32
Tejeda 1.21000106.23

WP: Gobble.
IBB: Pujols (by Bannister).
Pitches-strikes: Looper 78-45, Perez, C 35-22, Springer 5-3, Isringhausen 38-22, McClellan 9-7, Franklin 19-14, Bannister 103-51, Peralta 16-10, Gobble 31-19, Tejeda 17-11.
Groundouts-flyouts: Looper 4-3, Perez, C 0-3, Springer 0-0, Isringhausen 1-0, McClellan 1-1, Franklin 1-2, Bannister 5-7, Peralta 1-1, Gobble 1-4, Tejeda 1-2.
Batters faced: Looper 19, Perez, C 7, Springer 1, Isringhausen 8, McClellan 4, Franklin 6, Bannister 26, Peralta 4, Gobble 8, Tejeda 5.
Inherited runners-scored: Perez, C 3-0, Springer 2-0, McClellan 2-0, Franklin 2-1, Peralta 1-0, Tejeda 2-0.
Umpires: HP: Mike Winters. 1B: Brian Knight. 2B: Hunter Wendelstedt. 3B: Marvin Hudson.
Weather: 80 degrees, partly cloudy.
Wind: 15 mph, L to R.
T: 3:35.
Att: 31,803.
June 29, 2008

Box score official statistics approved by Major League Baseball Office of the Commissioner