Kansas City Royals come close to no

May 23, 2023

The Kansas City Royals flirted with history against the St. Louis Cardinals on Monday afternoon.

After throngs of red-clad fans had filed into Busch Stadium for the Memorial Day game, the Royals chased perfection and shut down the Cardinals for seven perfect innings.

Josh Staumont drew the start as the bullpen opener and proceeded to strike out reigning NL MVP Paul Goldschmidt and top prospect Nolan Gorman. Staumont gave way to Mike Mayers in the second inning, and Mayers pitched six nearly spotless innings as the Royals won 7-0.

"They were nasty today," Royals first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino said of KC's pitchers. "You can see that. That is a pretty good lineup over there. Some of those swings they were taking wasn't the most comfortable today.

"Really good from the pitching staff. They set the tone and we were able to get some things going and put the nail in the coffin there at the end."

It was a complete team effort. The Royals collected 16 hits, including nine against Monday's starting pitcher for the Cardinals, the veteran Adam Wainwright. In the second inning, Pasquantino plated KC's first run with an RBI double. Later, MJ Melendez tripled to drive home Salvador Perez.

The Cardinals were hittless until the eighth inning. Nolan Arenado broke up the perfect game as a crowd of 45,911 fans cheered. St. Louis finished with just two hits.

"It looked like a mixture of things," Royals manager Matt Quatraro said of Mayers’ dominance. "The location was good with the fastball. He was around the zone the whole day. When he wanted to throw a cutter, slider or curveball, he was getting it in or below the zone where they were off the end or swinging over the top."

The Royals added three runs in the ninth inning. Bobby Witt Jr. and Michael Massey deposited solo insurance homers into the outfield seats.

The Royals improved to 17-38 with the win in the first game of this two-game I-70 series.

"Josh set the tone today and you saw what Mike did," Witt said. "He did his job and it was awesome to be back there behind him. You see him doing his thing."

Royals captain Salvador Perez flashed his wheels in the fifth inning.

Perez led off the inning with a single. Two batters later, MJ Melendez hit a triple into the right-field gap. Perez rumbled around the bases and slid into home to score.

Perez has a 24.8 sprint speed this season, per Statcast.

"He ran pretty well there. That is probably the best I’ve seen him," Quatraro said.

Drew Waters has wasted no time showcasing his long-term value. In the sixth inning, he preserved the perfect-game bid with his glove. He broke in perfectly, diving to rob Tommy Edman of a sinking line drive. Waters reached full extension on the catch.

The sixth inning has hindered the Royals of late. On Monday, Mayers worked a clean inning by inducing a strikeout and two flyouts.

Bobby Witt Jr. continued his hot streak.

Witt hit his 10th home run of the year in the ninth inning. The ball traveled 406 feet and had a 104.8 mph exit velocity.

Massey hit his fourth home run this season, scoring Melendez as the Royals took a 7-0 lead.

What's next: The Royals continue — and wrap up — this I-70 series in St. Louis on Tuesday. Zack Greinke pitches for KC against the Cardinals’ Miles Mikolas.