Aug. 25 (UPI) -- St. Louis Cardinals ace Jack Flaherty allowed just one hit in five shutout innings and Paul Goldschmidt went 3 for 4 with three RBIs in a win over the Kansas City Royals at Busch Stadium.
Cardinals shortstop Paul DeJong also had three RBIs in the 9-3 victory Monday in St. Louis. Third baseman Brad Miller matched Goldschmidt's three hits in the win.
The Cardinals loaded the bases with two walks and a hit batter in the bottom of the first inning before DeJong stepped into the batter's box. The Cardinals shortstop worked an even count against Royals starter Brad Keller before he hit a sacrifice fly to right field. Tommy Edman scored on the play for a 1-0 lead.
Neither team scored for the next two innings before the Cardinals began the bottom of the fifth frame with three consecutive singles. Goldschmidt plated Edman on the final single of the streak for a 2-0 edge.
Matt Carpenter walked in the next at-bat before DeJong raked a two-run single to left field. Yadier Molina was hit by a pitch in the next at-bat to load the bases for the second time of the inning. Dexter Fowler followed with a two-run double to right field to give St. Louis a 6-0 advantage.
Royals designated hitter Jorge Soler hit a three-run homer in the top of the sixth frame for Kansas City's only runs of the game.
Goldschmidt responded in the bottom of the sixth inning with a 418-foot, two-run homer to left field. The blast went 111 mph and left the field in 4.6 seconds, according to Statcast.
Edman hit an RBI single in the bottom of the next inning for the final run of the game.
Keller allowed six hits and five runs in four innings to move to 3-1 on the season. Soler went 2 for 4 with three RBIs and a run scored for the Royals, who totaled just four hits in the loss.
The Cardinals (10-8) host the Royals (11-18) in the second game of the series at 8:15 p.m. EDT Tuesday at Busch Stadium.
