JJ Wetherholt hits 2 homers as the Cardinals beat the Royals 12-10 to avoid a sweep

By: Cody Friesen, The Associated Press Posted: 4:51 PM CDT Sunday, Jun. 21, 2026

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — JJ Wetherholt hit two home runs and had three RBIs as the St. Louis Cardinals avoided a series sweep with a 12-10 win over the Kansas City Royals on Sunday.

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KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — JJ Wetherholt hit two home runs and had three RBIs as the St. Louis Cardinals avoided a series sweep with a 12-10 win over the Kansas City Royals on Sunday.

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KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — JJ Wetherholt hit two home runs and had three RBIs as the St. Louis Cardinals avoided a series sweep with a 12-10 win over the Kansas City Royals on Sunday.

Masyn Winn hit a three-run homer in the Cardinals’ five-run first inning and Iván Herrera hit a three-run home run in the fifth for a 12-7 lead.

Wetherholt went 3 for 5 with a leadoff home run and a two-run home run in the second. Winn also hit an RBI single in the second for four RBIs.

St. Louis Cardinals' JJ Wetherholt (26) celebrates with third base coach Ron 'pop' Warner (75) after hitting a solo home run during the first inning of a baseball game against the Kansas City Royals, Sunday, June 21, 2026, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Lars Nootbaar and Alec Burleson hit RBI singles as St. Louis had a season-high 16 hits.

The Royals rallied after entering the bottom of the second down 9-2.

Nick Loftin and Jac Caglianone hit two-run homers to make it 9-6 in the second. Caglianone’s 444-foot home run into the second level of the right-field Kauffman Stadium fountain extended his home run streak to three games. Caglianone hit a solo home run in the ninth for his team-leading 12th of the year.

Salvador Perez hit an RBI single in the fourth. Carter Jensen hit a solo home run in the sixth. Perez scored on a fielder’s choice in the ninth, avoiding a tag and touching home.

St. Louis starter Dustin May allowed six runs in two innings. St. Louis used seven relievers with Gordon Graceffo (5-1) pitching one inning for the win.

Stephen Kolek (4-2) gave up nine runs on nine hits with one walk and one hit batter in 1 1/3 innings.

Bobby Witt Jr. was out of the lineup for the Sunday series finale after leaving Thursday’s game with a grade-1 MCL Sprain. Witt will be reevaluated on Monday.

Up next

The Royals visit Tampa Bay on Monday with RHP Michael Wacha (4-5, 3.64 ERA) scheduled to start for KC. St. Louis returns home to face Arizona on Monday. RHP Andre Pallante (8-4, 3.76) is slated to take the mound for the Cardinals.

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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb