The St. Louis Cardinals lost their seventh straight game Friday night when Albert Pujols's eighth-inning error allowed rookie Mike Moustakas to score, giving the Kansas City Royals their ffith and deciding run of the night. It was the first in a three-game interleague set at Busch Stadium, and so far Chris Carpenter's luck looks no more appealing than it did against the National League; he fell to 1-7 on the year despite throwing eight innings, striking out seven, and allowing just one walk—which turned out to be to Moustakas in that deciding eighth inning. The final score—5-4—came on 10 Royals hits, as Carpenter struggled once again with a high batting average on balls in play.
Lance Berkman doubled and drove in three runs for the Cardinals, who remain one game back in the National League Central after the Milwaukee Brewers also lost. Jake Westbrook and Vin Mazzaro will be the pitchers for Saturday's game, which begins an hour early at 6:15 CDT, while young left-handers Danny Duffy and Jaime Garcia will pitch the finale Sunday afternoon.