Jack Flaherty pitched six innings of two-hit ball in his return from an oblique injury, and the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Kansas City Royals 6-0 on Friday night.
Nolan Arenado hit his 23rd homer for St. Louis, which earned its fourth straight win. Tyler O'Neill and Lars Nootbaar also connected.
Flaherty (9-1) struck out five and walked none in his first big league start since May 31. T.J. McFarland then got six outs, Giovanny Gallegos worked the eighth and Ryan Helsley finished the five-hitter.
The 25-year-old Flaherty had been sidelined by a left oblique strain.
Arenado and O’Neill hit back-to-back homers in the fourth. It was No. 19 for O'Neill.
Arenado drove in Tommy Edman with a sacrifice fly in the fifth, and the Cardinals added two more in the eighth against Wade Davis. Yadier Molina had a run-scoring single, and Paul DeJong tacked on a sacrifice fly.
Nootbaar connected for his second homer in the ninth, a 441-foot drive into the fountains in right field.
Kansas City left-hander Mike Minor (8-11) permitted three runs and six hits in six innings. He struck out seven and walked one.
The Cardinals are three games over .500 for the first time since June 5.
WHIT’S BEEN STREAKING
Whit Merrifield played in his 421st consecutive game, tying Alcides Escobar for the longest streak in Royals history. It comes just two days after he tied Carlos Beltran’s record of 33 consecutive stolen bases.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Cardinals: Flaherty was activated off the 60-day IL, and LHP Wade LeBlanc (left elbow) was placed on the 10-day IL.
UP NEXT
The Cardinals send Jon Lester (3-6, 5.57 ERA) to the mound against Brad Keller (7-11, 5.79 ERA) for the second game of the series.