Jon Lester made a triumphant return to Kauffman Stadium Saturday as the St. Louis Cardinals defeated the Kansas City Royals 9-4 in the middle game of a three-game series. Lester allowed one run on seven hits in 5 2/3 innings.

Lester (4-6) was making his first appearance at Kauffman Stadium since the 2014 wild-card game as a member of the Oakland A's.

Lester is now 10-3 against the Royals with a 2.18 ERA, the third best ERA in MLB history against one team among pitchers with at least 85 innings pitched.

Brad Keller (7-12) took the loss. He allowed four runs (three earned) on seven hits in 6 2/3 innings. He walked two and struck out eight.

The Royals got to Lester in the fourth on an RBI single by Michael A. Taylor. Salvador Perez led off with a single and was retired on a fielder's choice. Hunter Dozier extended his hitting streak to eight games with a single, prior to Taylor's line drive up the middle.

The Cardinals answered with two runs in the fifth. Yadier Molina reached on an error. Lars Nootbaar followed with a single. Edmundo Sosa reached on an infield single, loading the bases. Tommy Edman then singled, driving in two.

Lester came out of the game with two on and two outs in the sixth, and Ryan Helsley got pinch hitter Ryan O'Hearn to line out to left.

The Cardinals then answered with four two-out runs in the seventh. Sosa stroked a single, followed by a single by Edman, ending Keller's night. Paul Goldschmidt drove in two runs with a bloop single off Josh Staumont, who then gave up a two-run home run to Nolan Arenado.

The Cardinals added three runs in the ninth on a sacrifice fly by Goldschmidt and two-run double by Arenado.

Whit Merrifield played in his 422nd straight game for the Royals, the longest active streak in the majors and the longest streak in franchise history. He was 2-for-4 with two RBIs, both on a double in the ninth. Carlos Santana drove in Merrifield with the final run.

--Field Level Media