High School Baseball: Cardinals 6, Royals 0
ST. LOUIS (AP) Miles Mikolas was pitching in Japan a year ago. Now hes one of the top pitchers in the majors.
Mikolas pitched a four-hitter for his first career shutout and Tyler ONeill homered for the third straight game and drove in four runs, leading the St. Louis Cardinals to a 6-0 victory over the Kansas City Royals on Monday night.
Mikolas needed just 109 pitches to remain unbeaten and struck out a career-high nine. The Cardinals won for the third time in four games and beat the Royals for the fifth straight time.
Night like tonight, I was feeling good and on top of that we made some great plays on defense, tracking balls down in the outfield, getting dirty on the infield, Mikolas said. Everything just kind of came together for a great game.
Mikolas (6-0) retired 13 of the final 14 batters he faced. The only trouble he faced came after he allowed back-to-back singles to start the third, but got out of it with the help of a double play.
I thought he did a nice job of getting his breaking ball going maybe the second time through the lineup, Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said. He showed it a time or two the first time through, but didnt rely on it heavy and then you saw late in the game obviously he used it heavily.
Mikolas faced just three batters over the minimum, lowering his ERA to 2.24 putting him in the top five in the National League. His ninthinning walk was the first free pass he had issued in 29 1/3 innings at Busch Stadium this season.
I love pitching here, Mikolas said. I love the mound. Im really confident in this home stadium. I know it can be a bit of a pitchers park at times.
Mikolas made an impression on the Royals hitters.
Obviously for a lot of guys it was the first time seeing him, centerfielder Jon Jay said. He had good stuff and pitched a complete game. You tip your cap to what he was able to do tonight.
ONeills three-run homer, his first career to the opposite field, capped a four-run third in which the Cardinals strung together five two-out hits. ONeills double in the fifth scored Marcell Ozuna, giving the Cardinals a 5-0 lead.
I was looking for something I could get my arms extended, ONeill said of the home run. A pitch up in the zone I could do some damage with. Two outs, I knew I just couldnt hit a fly ball, I had to drive something and I did the job.
Ozuna proceeded ONeills blast with an RBI single, breaking a 0-for-22 slump. Ozuna reached three times and had a pair of hits.
Matt Carpenter homered in the seventh as part of a three-hit night. Carpenter is hitting .542 (13 for 24) in his last six games, including seven doubles, to raise his average to .210. It is the first time since April 7 that Carpenters average rose north of .200.
Royals starter Ian Kennedy (1-5) gave up five runs, all with two outs, in 5 2/3 innings. He has lost his last five decisions and hasnt gotten a win since April 7.
