Miles Mikolas pitched eight shutout innings, Nolan Arenado hit an RBI double and Nolan Gorman drove in a run with a sacrifice fly as the St. Louis Cardinals defeated the Kansas City Royals 2-1 on Tuesday night to split the two-game set between the I-70 rivals.
Mikolas (4-1) matched a career-high with 10 strikeouts and allowed three hits in working a season-high eight innings. The strikeout total matched the 34-year-old right-hander's effort against Milwaukee in 2019.
The Cardinals got a run in the sixth with two outs against Carlos Hernández (0-2). Paul Goldschmidt reached first on an infield single. Arenado hit a run-scoring double to left-center. Arenado has a team-high 18 RBIs in interleague play this season.
St. Louis extended its lead to 2-0 in the eighth Gorman's sac fly off Aroldis Chapman, scoring Tommy Edman.
Zack Greinke started for the Royals but didn't figure in the decision. The 39-year-old right-hander pitched five scoreless innings, allowing two hits and a walk with six strikeouts. He ranks first in starts (526) and innings pitched (3,309 1/3), second in wins (224) and third in strikeouts (2,929) among active pitchers.
After off days Wednesday and Thursday, the Cardinals return Friday, continuing a stretch of 13 of 15 games on the road between May 22-June 7.