Matt Quatraro made a swift decision as he called upon left-handed reliever Angel Zerpa from the bullpen. Zerpa needed to provide length during his outing. Royals starter Cole Ragans was knocked out of the game,

After inclement weather rained out Wednesday’s game, the Cardinals played their fifth doubleheader of the season Thursday at Busch Stadium. They rallied twice to win Game 1, 6-5, in ten innings, but fell short of another comeback in Game 2 and lost 7-5, splitting the twin bill and losing the series.

St. Louis starter Matthew Liberatore left the Cardinals’ game Thursday night against Kansas City because of fatigue.

Liberatore came into the game with a 3-4 record, a 3.08 ERA, and a 1.06 WHIP across 11 starts. The 6-foot-4-inch, 215-pounder then allowed seven earned runs on eight hits in just