The Kansas City Royals had a winning road trip following another rough homestand where they won just one game, beating the Arizona Diamondbacks 4-0 on Sunday afternoon for a series win, finishing the road trip between Seattle and Arizona with a 4-3 record.&nbsp;

Recently named American League All Star Bobby Witt Jr opened the scoring for the Royals in the shutout win with a solo home run to left field, his 12th of the season.&nbsp; After a flyout by Vinnie Pasquantino, Salvador Perez extended the lead with a solo home run of his own, also going to left center field for his 10th of the season, putting Kansas City up 2-0.&nbsp;

The Royals scored their final two runs in the fifth inning, John Rave singling home Jac Caglianone, after Caglianone led the inning off being hit by a pitch and stealing second base for his first major league stolen base.&nbsp; Nick Loftin who singled in the inning moved to third base on the hit by Rave, and scored on a single by Kyle Isbel for the final run giving Kansas City the 4-0 lead.&nbsp;

Michael Lorenzen pitched a gem in the finale, earning the win and improving to 5-8 on the season, pitching seven innings and giving up just two hits in the shutout effort, striking out seven and walking one.&nbsp; At the plate, Isbel was 2-for-4 with an RBI, Pasquantino was also 2-for-4 with two doubles.&nbsp; Perez was 1-for-3 with a walk and an RBI.&nbsp;

Also announced during the game was that Royals starting pitcher Kris Bubic will join Witt Jr in Atlanta, Georgia for the All Star Game.&nbsp;&nbsp;Bubic has 107 strikeouts in 103 1/3 innings, and his 2.36 ERA this season ranks fifth-best among AL starters. Bubic earned AL Pitcher of the Month honors back in May with a 0.56 ERA.

Kansas City now will return to Kauffman Stadium, again hoping for better luck, taking welcoming in Pittsburgh.&nbsp; Noah Cameron (2-4, 2.56 ERA) makes the start for the Royals against Andrew Heaney (4-7, 4.16 ERA) for the Pirates.&nbsp; First pitch is at 6:40pm, pregame coverage starts at 6 on KFEQ (680AM/95.3FM).&nbsp;

You can follow Matt on X @KfeqMatt.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;

By MATT PIKEThe Kansas City Royals had a winning road trip following another rough homestand where they won just one game, beating the Arizona Diamondbacks 4-0 on Sunday afternoon for a series win, finishing the road trip between Seattle and Arizona with a 4-3 record.&nbsp;Recently named American League All Star Bobby Witt Jr opened the scoring for the Royals in the shutout win with a solo home run to left field, his 12th of the season.&nbsp; After a flyout by Vinnie Pasquantino, Salvador Perez extended the lead with a solo home run of his own, also going to left center field for his 10th of the season, putting Kansas City up 2-0.&nbsp;<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Bobby and Salvy leave the yard! 💪 <a href="https://t.co/bHGRTBQBSA">pic.twitter.com/bHGRTBQBSA</a>&mdash; Kansas City Royals (@Royals) <a href="https://twitter.com/Royals/status/1941967190258798660?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 6, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>The Royals scored their final two runs in the fifth inning, John Rave singling home Jac Caglianone, after Caglianone led the inning off being hit by a pitch and stealing second base for his first major league stolen base.&nbsp; Nick Loftin who singled in the inning moved to third base on the hit by Rave, and scored on a single by Kyle Isbel for the final run giving Kansas City the 4-0 lead.&nbsp;Michael Lorenzen pitched a gem in the finale, earning the win and improving to 5-8 on the season, pitching seven innings and giving up just two hits in the shutout effort, striking out seven and walking one.&nbsp; At the plate, Isbel was 2-for-4 with an RBI, Pasquantino was also 2-for-4 with two doubles.&nbsp; Perez was 1-for-3 with a walk and an RBI.&nbsp;Also announced during the game was that Royals starting pitcher Kris Bubic will join Witt Jr in Atlanta, Georgia for the All Star Game.&nbsp;&nbsp;Bubic has 107 strikeouts in 103 1/3 innings, and his 2.36 ERA this season ranks fifth-best among AL starters. Bubic earned AL Pitcher of the Month honors back in May with a 0.56 ERA.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">A sensational selection. 🌟 Kris Bubic is a 2025 All-Star! <a href="https://t.co/UgNOSl3Pat">pic.twitter.com/UgNOSl3Pat</a>&mdash; Kansas City Royals (@Royals) <a href="https://twitter.com/Royals/status/1941969989805723762?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 6, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>Kansas City now will return to Kauffman Stadium, again hoping for better luck, taking welcoming in Pittsburgh.&nbsp; Noah Cameron (2-4, 2.56 ERA) makes the start for the Royals against Andrew Heaney (4-7, 4.16 ERA) for the Pirates.&nbsp; First pitch is at 6:40pm, pregame coverage starts at 6 on KFEQ (680AM/95.3FM).&nbsp;You can follow Matt on X @KfeqMatt.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;

Royals shutout D-Backs 4-0 for series win, Witt Jr. and Bubic named AL All Stars

The St. Joseph Mustangs swept a three game homestand, filled each night with postgame fireworks, beating the Clarinda A's 10-9 on Saturday night at Phil Welch Stadium in a battle of the two teams at the top of the MINK League.

Before the matchup, the two teams concluded a suspended matchup from June 26th, a game that was stopped tied 3-3 in the top of the ninth inning due to inclement weather rolling into St. Joseph.&nbsp; After Jase Johnson escaped the top of the inning unharmed, only giving up a single, the Mustangs led off the bottom of the ninth with a double by Jack Mosh, who eventually was the winning run as Trevor McCollum hit a walkoff single into right field for a 4-3 win.&nbsp;

Starting action in their normally scheduled game, following an exhibition matchup between the St. Joseph Police Department and Fire Department, the Mustangs and A's took the field, with St. Joseph taking a lead in the first inning, scoring four runs.&nbsp;

Lafayette alum Brayden Luikart drove in the first runs of the game with a double with no outs, scoring Jack Mosh and Central alum Logan Miller.&nbsp; Luikart scored later in the inning thanks to a new face to the team, in his first game with the Mustangs Luke Bies singled home Luikart.&nbsp; Bies scored the final run of the inning on a single by Carter Belton for a 4-0 Mustangs lead.&nbsp;

St. Joseph extended their lead in the second inning as Miller scored on a groundout by Luikart.&nbsp; Two more runs were added in the inning when Justin George doubled into center field, driving in Dom Felix for an unearned run as well as Jack Mosh, giving the Mustangs a 7-0 lead, a lead they held until Clarinda began to rally in the fourth inning.&nbsp;

A big inning for the A's cut the lead to two as&nbsp;Colin Linteo hit a two run triple, bringing home&nbsp;Clayton Pourciau and&nbsp;Brady Dobson.&nbsp; Then, with the bases loaded after&nbsp;Cooper Knight was hit by a pitch and&nbsp;Micah Nicholson walked,&nbsp;Drake Cobb hit a bases clearing double driving in all three runners to cut the Mustangs lead to 7-5.&nbsp;

In the bottom of the fourth inning, the Mustangs added another run of insurance as Bies scored on a wild pitch.&nbsp; But in the sixth inning the A's got that run back to cut the lead back to two runs on a home run, a solo shot by Linteo, and in the same inning cut the lead to one run with another solo home run from Cobb.&nbsp; By the end of the sixth, the lead remained two runs though, as Savannah alum Truman Bodenhausen scored on a wild pitch in the bottom half of the sixth, giving the Mustangs a 9-7 lead.

Linteo continued having a field day for the A's in the eighth inning, cutting the lead to one again, hitting his second home run of the game.&nbsp; In the bottom half of the inning, Bies also continued his stellar debut for the Mustangs, driving in a big insurance run with the bases loaded, singling to drive in Miller for a 10-9 lead, the bases were stranded loaded however as Darius Freeman grounded out to third base.&nbsp;

The Mustangs brought on Benton alum Chris Coy to close out the game in the ninth inning.&nbsp; Coy forced Cooper Eberly to flyout to right field, but then ran into some trouble, surrendering a single to&nbsp;Tayvon Homolar, who later advanced to second on a wild pitch, before walking&nbsp;Clayton Pourciau, and then again allowing both runners to advance on another wild pitch.&nbsp; With runners at second and third, Coy got&nbsp;Jake Espeland to ground out, scoring Homolar, and bringing Linteo to the plate.&nbsp; But this time, Linteo was called out on strikes, and Coy earned his first career save.

Michael Infranca earned the win for the Mustangs, pitching 1 1/3 innings of relief and giving up one run on two hits, striking out two and walking one after taking over for starter Aron Harrington who pitched 3 2/3 innings giving up four runs on one hit while striking out three and walking three.&nbsp; At the plate, Luikart was 1-for-5 with a double, a stolen base, three RBI's, and a walk.&nbsp; Mosh was 2-for-4 with a double, a walk, and two runs scored, while Bodenhausen was also 2-for-4 with a walk, a stolen base, and a run scored.&nbsp;

The Mustangs are now 24-5 on the season and are 19-4 in the MINK League.&nbsp; They hit the road next for a three game roadtrip, starting tomorrow in Clarinda taking on the A's once again, with first pitch from Iowa at 7pm.&nbsp;

You can follow Matt on X @KfeqMatt.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;

By MATT PIKEThe St. Joseph Mustangs swept a three game homestand, filled each night with postgame fireworks, beating the Clarinda A's 10-9 on Saturday night at Phil Welch Stadium in a battle of the two teams at the top of the MINK League.Before the matchup, the two teams concluded a suspended matchup from June 26th, a game that was stopped tied 3-3 in the top of the ninth inning due to inclement weather rolling into St. Joseph.&nbsp; After Jase Johnson escaped the top of the inning unharmed, only giving up a single, the Mustangs led off the bottom of the ninth with a double by Jack Mosh, who eventually was the winning run as Trevor McCollum hit a walkoff single into right field for a 4-3 win.&nbsp;<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">🚨McCollum Walks it off!!! 🚨 Final Score: Mustangs - 4 Clarinda - 3 ⬇️ <a href="https://t.co/WluoPuqNAw">pic.twitter.com/WluoPuqNAw</a>&mdash; StJoeMustangs (@theSJmustangs) <a href="https://twitter.com/theSJmustangs/status/1941630964674818212?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 5, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div>Starting action in their normally scheduled game, following an exhibition matchup between the St. Joseph Police Department and Fire Department, the Mustangs and A's took the field, with St. Joseph taking a lead in the first inning, scoring four runs.&nbsp;Lafayette alum Brayden Luikart drove in the first runs of the game with a double with no outs, scoring Jack Mosh and Central alum Logan Miller.&nbsp; Luikart scored later in the inning thanks to a new face to the team, in his first game with the Mustangs Luke Bies singled home Luikart.&nbsp; Bies scored the final run of the inning on a single by Carter Belton for a 4-0 Mustangs lead.&nbsp;St. Joseph extended their lead in the second inning as Miller scored on a groundout by Luikart.&nbsp; Two more runs were added in the inning when Justin George doubled into center field, driving in Dom Felix for an unearned run as well as Jack Mosh, giving the Mustangs a 7-0 lead, a lead they held until Clarinda began to rally in the fourth inning.&nbsp;A big inning for the A's cut the lead to two as&nbsp;Colin Linteo hit a two run triple, bringing home&nbsp;Clayton Pourciau and&nbsp;Brady Dobson.&nbsp; Then, with the bases loaded after&nbsp;Cooper Knight was hit by a pitch and&nbsp;Micah Nicholson walked,&nbsp;Drake Cobb hit a bases clearing double driving in all three runners to cut the Mustangs lead to 7-5.&nbsp;In the bottom of the fourth inning, the Mustangs added another run of insurance as Bies scored on a wild pitch.&nbsp; But in the sixth inning the A's got that run back to cut the lead back to two runs on a home run, a solo shot by Linteo, and in the same inning cut the lead to one run with another solo home run from Cobb.&nbsp; By the end of the sixth, the lead remained two runs though, as Savannah alum Truman Bodenhausen scored on a wild pitch in the bottom half of the sixth, giving the Mustangs a 9-7 lead.Linteo continued having a field day for the A's in the eighth inning, cutting the lead to one again, hitting his second home run of the game.&nbsp; In the bottom half of the inning, Bies also continued his stellar debut for the Mustangs, driving in a big insurance run with the bases loaded, singling to drive in Miller for a 10-9 lead, the bases were stranded loaded however as Darius Freeman grounded out to third base.&nbsp;The Mustangs brought on Benton alum Chris Coy to close out the game in the ninth inning.&nbsp; Coy forced Cooper Eberly to flyout to right field, but then ran into some trouble, surrendering a single to&nbsp;Tayvon Homolar, who later advanced to second on a wild pitch, before walking&nbsp;Clayton Pourciau, and then again allowing both runners to advance on another wild pitch.&nbsp; With runners at second and third, Coy got&nbsp;Jake Espeland to ground out, scoring Homolar, and bringing Linteo to the plate.&nbsp; But this time, Linteo was called out on strikes, and Coy earned his first career save.Michael Infranca earned the win for the Mustangs, pitching 1 1/3 innings of relief and giving up one run on two hits, striking out two and walking one after taking over for starter Aron Harrington who pitched 3 2/3 innings giving up four runs on one hit while striking out three and walking three.&nbsp; At the plate, Luikart was 1-for-5 with a double, a stolen base, three RBI's, and a walk.&nbsp; Mosh was 2-for-4 with a double, a walk, and two runs scored, while Bodenhausen was also 2-for-4 with a walk, a stolen base, and a run scored.&nbsp;The Mustangs are now 24-5 on the season and are 19-4 in the MINK League.&nbsp; They hit the road next for a three game roadtrip, starting tomorrow in Clarinda taking on the A's once again, with first pitch from Iowa at 7pm.&nbsp;You can follow Matt on X @KfeqMatt.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;

Mustangs score homestand sweep with two wins in a day over A's

The Kansas City Royals offense struggled in the middle game of their weekend series against the Arizona Diamondbacks, as the D-Backs evened up the series winning 7-1 on Saturday afternoon at Chase Field.

The Diamondbacks started the scoring in the third inning on back to back RBI singles, the first by Josh Naylor, driving in Geraldo Perdomo, followed by&nbsp;Eugenio Suárez bringing in Pavin Smith.&nbsp; Another two runs scored in the fifth inning, again with Perdomo and Smith coming across home plate on a double by Lourdes Gurriel Jr.&nbsp;

Kansas City's lone run came in the sixth inning, an RBI single by Bobby Witt Jr driving in Freddy Fermin, and then in the seventh inning the Diamondbacks got that run back as following a triple, Gourriel Jr scored on a double by James McCann.&nbsp; Randal Grichuk's two run home run in the eighth inning, scoring Blaze Alexander, put the final two runs on for Arizona.&nbsp;

Michael Wacha took the loss for Kansas City, falling to 4-9 on the season, pitching four innings and giving up four runs on four hits while striking out four and walking four.&nbsp; At the plate, Fermin was 2-for-3 with a double and a run scored as the Royals had five hits on the day.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Kansas City and Arizona wrap up their series tomorrow.&nbsp; Michael Lorenzen (4-8, 4.95 ERA) takes the mound for the Royals against&nbsp;Anthony DeSclafani (0-0, 4.82 ERA) for the Diamondbacks.&nbsp; First pitch is at 3:10pm, pregame coverage starts at 2:30 on KFEQ (680AM/95.3FM).

By MATT PIKEThe Kansas City Royals offense struggled in the middle game of their weekend series against the Arizona Diamondbacks, as the D-Backs evened up the series winning 7-1 on Saturday afternoon at Chase Field.The Diamondbacks started the scoring in the third inning on back to back RBI singles, the first by Josh Naylor, driving in Geraldo Perdomo, followed by&nbsp;Eugenio Suárez bringing in Pavin Smith.&nbsp; Another two runs scored in the fifth inning, again with Perdomo and Smith coming across home plate on a double by Lourdes Gurriel Jr.&nbsp;Kansas City's lone run came in the sixth inning, an RBI single by Bobby Witt Jr driving in Freddy Fermin, and then in the seventh inning the Diamondbacks got that run back as following a triple, Gourriel Jr scored on a double by James McCann.&nbsp; Randal Grichuk's two run home run in the eighth inning, scoring Blaze Alexander, put the final two runs on for Arizona.&nbsp;Michael Wacha took the loss for Kansas City, falling to 4-9 on the season, pitching four innings and giving up four runs on four hits while striking out four and walking four.&nbsp; At the plate, Fermin was 2-for-3 with a double and a run scored as the Royals had five hits on the day.&nbsp;&nbsp;Kansas City and Arizona wrap up their series tomorrow.&nbsp; Michael Lorenzen (4-8, 4.95 ERA) takes the mound for the Royals against&nbsp;Anthony DeSclafani (0-0, 4.82 ERA) for the Diamondbacks.&nbsp; First pitch is at 3:10pm, pregame coverage starts at 2:30 on KFEQ (680AM/95.3FM).You can follow Matt on X @KfeqMatt.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;

Royals offense stalls falling to Diamondbacks 7-1

Chicago Cubs first baseman Michael Busch homered for a fourth time in the series, but the St. Louis Cardinals used a big five run eighth inning to even up the series in Chicago at Wrigley Field, beating the Cubs 8-6 on Saturday afternoon.

The Cardinals opened up the scoring in the first inning after the bases were loaded thanks to walks to Brendan Donovan and Willson Contreras and a single by Alec Burleson, setting up&nbsp;Thomas Saggese for a two RBI single, driving in Donovan and Contreras for the early lead.&nbsp; The Cubs cut that lead in half in the bottom of the second inning on Busch's solo home run to center field, his 18th of the season, and fourth of the series after hitting three in the opener on Friday.&nbsp;

Nolan Gorman answered the home run with one of his own to extend the Cardinals lead in the fourth inning, blasting it 420 feet to center field for his eighth home run of the season.&nbsp; The Cubs again though in the bottom half of the inning cut the lead to one as Ian Happ grounded out, bringing home Nico Hoerner&nbsp; who walked earlier in the inning.&nbsp;

Chicago took the lead briefly in the bottom of the sixth inning after former Cardinal Carson Kelly doubled, and later scored the tying run on an RBI single by Hoerner.&nbsp; A wild pitch from reliever Kyle Leahy, his second of the inning, brought home Busch who had singled following Kelly's double for the go ahead run.&nbsp; The Cubs extended that lead in the seventh on a solo home run by Kelly.&nbsp;

Trailing 5-3, the Cardinals used the eighth inning to take the lead, scoring five runs in the frame which started by cutting the Cubs lead to one run on a solo home run by Burleson.&nbsp; After back to back singles by Saggese and Lars Nootbaar, it was Gorman coming through again for the Redbirds with an RBI single, tying the game and bringing home Saggese.&nbsp; 

With two runners on, Yohel Pozo pinch hit for&nbsp;Pedro Pagés, and as he has a couple other times this season, came through clutch with a three run go ahead home run to left field, putting St. Louis up 8-5. Seiya Suzuki doubled to bring home Kyle Tucker, who reached first on catcher's interference, for the final run for Chicago in the bottom half of the inning.&nbsp;

Steven Matz earned the win in relief for the Cardinals, improving to 5-2 on the season, pitching 1 2/3 innings and giving up one run on one hit while striking out three and walking two.&nbsp; Former Royal Brad Keller took the loss for the Cubs.&nbsp; Ryan Helsley earned his 17th save.&nbsp; At the plate, Burleson was 3-for-5 with the home run and an RBI.&nbsp; Gorman was 2-for-4 with a home run and two RBIs.&nbsp;

St. Louis and Chicago wrap up their series tomorrow.&nbsp; Erick Fedde (3-8, 4.56 ERA) takes the mound for the Cardinals against Matthew Boyd (8-3, 2.65 ERA) for the Cubs.&nbsp; First pitch is at 5:10pm, coverage will be joined just before the start at 5 on KY 102 (102.5 FM).&nbsp;

By MATT PIKEChicago Cubs first baseman Michael Busch homered for a fourth time in the series, but the St. Louis Cardinals used a big five run eighth inning to even up the series in Chicago at Wrigley Field, beating the Cubs 8-6 on Saturday afternoon.The Cardinals opened up the scoring in the first inning after the bases were loaded thanks to walks to Brendan Donovan and Willson Contreras and a single by Alec Burleson, setting up&nbsp;Thomas Saggese for a two RBI single, driving in Donovan and Contreras for the early lead.&nbsp; The Cubs cut that lead in half in the bottom of the second inning on Busch's solo home run to center field, his 18th of the season, and fourth of the series after hitting three in the opener on Friday.&nbsp;<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Saggese drives in two! <a href="https://t.co/uXDRsfwoIN">pic.twitter.com/uXDRsfwoIN</a>&mdash; St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) <a href="https://twitter.com/Cardinals/status/1941566836832862522?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 5, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>Nolan Gorman answered the home run with one of his own to extend the Cardinals lead in the fourth inning, blasting it 420 feet to center field for his eighth home run of the season.&nbsp; The Cubs again though in the bottom half of the inning cut the lead to one as Ian Happ grounded out, bringing home Nico Hoerner&nbsp; who walked earlier in the inning.&nbsp;<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Gorman crushes one 420 feet the other way! <a href="https://t.co/jb3uxUSc9t">pic.twitter.com/jb3uxUSc9t</a>&mdash; St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) <a href="https://twitter.com/Cardinals/status/1941580850962862385?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 5, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>Chicago took the lead briefly in the bottom of the sixth inning after former Cardinal Carson Kelly doubled, and later scored the tying run on an RBI single by Hoerner.&nbsp; A wild pitch from reliever Kyle Leahy, his second of the inning, brought home Busch who had singled following Kelly's double for the go ahead run.&nbsp; The Cubs extended that lead in the seventh on a solo home run by Kelly.&nbsp;Trailing 5-3, the Cardinals used the eighth inning to take the lead, scoring five runs in the frame which started by cutting the Cubs lead to one run on a solo home run by Burleson.&nbsp; After back to back singles by Saggese and Lars Nootbaar, it was Gorman coming through again for the Redbirds with an RBI single, tying the game and bringing home Saggese.&nbsp; <div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Burly to straightaway center! <a href="https://t.co/FhYxEEncTn">pic.twitter.com/FhYxEEncTn</a>&mdash; St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) <a href="https://twitter.com/Cardinals/status/1941599032868008397?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 5, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">CLUTCH GORMAN <a href="https://t.co/wUumY3047T">pic.twitter.com/wUumY3047T</a>&mdash; St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) <a href="https://twitter.com/Cardinals/status/1941599511501017111?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 5, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>With two runners on, Yohel Pozo pinch hit for&nbsp;Pedro Pagés, and as he has a couple other times this season, came through clutch with a three run go ahead home run to left field, putting St. Louis up 8-5. Seiya Suzuki doubled to bring home Kyle Tucker, who reached first on catcher's interference, for the final run for Chicago in the bottom half of the inning.&nbsp;<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">CLUTCH GORMAN <a href="https://t.co/wUumY3047T">pic.twitter.com/wUumY3047T</a>&mdash; St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) <a href="https://twitter.com/Cardinals/status/1941599511501017111?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 5, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>Steven Matz earned the win in relief for the Cardinals, improving to 5-2 on the season, pitching 1 2/3 innings and giving up one run on one hit while striking out three and walking two.&nbsp; Former Royal Brad Keller took the loss for the Cubs.&nbsp; Ryan Helsley earned his 17th save.&nbsp; At the plate, Burleson was 3-for-5 with the home run and an RBI.&nbsp; Gorman was 2-for-4 with a home run and two RBIs.&nbsp;St. Louis and Chicago wrap up their series tomorrow.&nbsp; Erick Fedde (3-8, 4.56 ERA) takes the mound for the Cardinals against Matthew Boyd (8-3, 2.65 ERA) for the Cubs.&nbsp; First pitch is at 5:10pm, coverage will be joined just before the start at 5 on KY 102 (102.5 FM).&nbsp;You can follow Matt on X @KfeqMatt.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;

Busch homers again, but Cardinals even up series with 8-6 win over Cubs

For just the second time in his career, Vinnie Pasquantino hit two home runs in a game, and recorded a career high six RBI's as the Kansas City Royals opened a series with the Arizona Diamondbacks with a 9-3 win on Independence Day.&nbsp;

Pasquantino's first home run opened the scoring for the Royals in the first inning.&nbsp; After Jonathan India was hit by a pitch and Bobby Witt Jr singled, Pasquantino homered to right field, his 13th of the season.&nbsp; The Diamondbacks cut the lead to one in the bottom half of the inning, a sacrifice fly by&nbsp;Eugenio Suárez driving in Ketel Marte for the first run before&nbsp;&nbsp;Josh Naylor's single brought home Geraldo Perdomo.

Kansas City added three more runs in the second inning, first extending the lead on an RBI single by Witt Jr, driving in Freddy Fermin, and keeping the bases loaded moving India to second and John Rave to third.&nbsp; Pasquantino drove in his fourth run of the day with a single, scoring Rave, and again keeping the bases loaded, setting the table for India to score as Salvador Perez grounded into a force out, with Pasquantino out at second as Perez beat the throw to first.&nbsp;

After Witt Jr singled to open the fourth inning, the Royals added more insurance runs as Pasquantino hit his second home run of the game, driving in Witt Jr.&nbsp; 

In the fifth, Kansas City added their final run on yet another home run, this time by Mark Canha, hitting his first home run of the season. Arizona's final run came in the next inning on a solo home run by&nbsp;Suárez.

Kris Bubic looked like his early season self, earning the win and improving to 7-6 on the season, pitching seven innings and giving up three runs on seven hits while striking out six and walking three.&nbsp; At the plate, Pasquantino was 3-for-5 with two home runs and six RBI's.&nbsp; Witt Jr was also 3-for-5 with an RBI and two runs scored.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Kansas City and Arizona continue their series on Saturday.&nbsp; Michael Wacha (4-8, 3.62 ERA) takes the mound for the Royals against&nbsp;Ryne Nelson (4-2, 3.61 ERA) for the Diamondbacks.&nbsp; First pitch is at 3:10pm, pregame coverage begins at 2:30 on KFEQ (680AM/95.3FM).&nbsp;

By MATT PIKEFor just the second time in his career, Vinnie Pasquantino hit two home runs in a game, and recorded a career high six RBI's as the Kansas City Royals opened a series with the Arizona Diamondbacks with a 9-3 win on Independence Day.&nbsp;Pasquantino's first home run opened the scoring for the Royals in the first inning.&nbsp; After Jonathan India was hit by a pitch and Bobby Witt Jr singled, Pasquantino homered to right field, his 13th of the season.&nbsp; The Diamondbacks cut the lead to one in the bottom half of the inning, a sacrifice fly by&nbsp;Eugenio Suárez driving in Ketel Marte for the first run before&nbsp;&nbsp;Josh Naylor's single brought home Geraldo Perdomo.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Mamma mia! <a href="https://t.co/zNHI48PQou">pic.twitter.com/zNHI48PQou</a>&mdash; Kansas City Royals (@Royals) <a href="https://twitter.com/Royals/status/1941313889783914608?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 5, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>Kansas City added three more runs in the second inning, first extending the lead on an RBI single by Witt Jr, driving in Freddy Fermin, and keeping the bases loaded moving India to second and John Rave to third.&nbsp; Pasquantino drove in his fourth run of the day with a single, scoring Rave, and again keeping the bases loaded, setting the table for India to score as Salvador Perez grounded into a force out, with Pasquantino out at second as Perez beat the throw to first.&nbsp;<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Get ‘em on. Get ‘em over. Get ‘em in. <a href="https://t.co/dYlX7TIu2v">pic.twitter.com/dYlX7TIu2v</a>&mdash; Kansas City Royals (@Royals) <a href="https://twitter.com/Royals/status/1941323043827220542?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 5, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>After Witt Jr singled to open the fourth inning, the Royals added more insurance runs as Pasquantino hit his second home run of the game, driving in Witt Jr.&nbsp; <div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">We’ve got a double Pasquatch sighting in Arizona! <a href="https://t.co/8EcTCDRhYp">pic.twitter.com/8EcTCDRhYp</a>&mdash; Kansas City Royals (@Royals) <a href="https://twitter.com/Royals/status/1941329437989142794?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 5, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>In the fifth, Kansas City added their final run on yet another home run, this time by Mark Canha, hitting his first home run of the season. Arizona's final run came in the next inning on a solo home run by&nbsp;Suárez.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Canha got a cookie. <a href="https://t.co/KaHigQfthQ">pic.twitter.com/KaHigQfthQ</a>&mdash; Kansas City Royals (@Royals) <a href="https://twitter.com/Royals/status/1941334245534024038?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 5, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>Kris Bubic looked like his early season self, earning the win and improving to 7-6 on the season, pitching seven innings and giving up three runs on seven hits while striking out six and walking three.&nbsp; At the plate, Pasquantino was 3-for-5 with two home runs and six RBI's.&nbsp; Witt Jr was also 3-for-5 with an RBI and two runs scored.&nbsp;&nbsp;Kansas City and Arizona continue their series on Saturday.&nbsp; Michael Wacha (4-8, 3.62 ERA) takes the mound for the Royals against&nbsp;Ryne Nelson (4-2, 3.61 ERA) for the Diamondbacks.&nbsp; First pitch is at 3:10pm, pregame coverage begins at 2:30 on KFEQ (680AM/95.3FM).&nbsp;You can follow Matt on X @KfeqMatt.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;

Pasquantino homers twice, career high RBI's as Royals win 9-3

The Sedalia Bombers rallied back from behind, and had the tying run at third base in the ninth inning, but the St. Joseph Mustangs held on to get a win on the Fourth of July at Phil Welch Stadium, beating the Bombers 7-6, remaining perfect on their short three game homestand.

A sacrifice fly by Dom Felix put the Mustangs on the board first in the first inning, driving in Trevor McCollum for the opening run.&nbsp; But the Bombers tied things up in the second inning with an RBI single by&nbsp;Caden Paxton, bringing home&nbsp;Jadyn Roberts for the 1-1 tie.&nbsp; The Mustangs pulled away over the next three innings, scoring six unanswered runs.&nbsp;

Three runs scored in the third inning, starting with McCollum doubling to left field and driving in Darius Freeman.&nbsp; McCollum scored himself on a single by Lafayette alum Brayden Luikart, and later in the inning Luikart came home for a run, that turned unearned due to a throwing error by pitcher Gavin Killion, scoring as Justin George reached on a fielders choice.&nbsp;

In the fourth inning, Freeman extended the lead with an RBI double, driving in Tyler Gundelfinger.&nbsp; The final two runs were added in the fifth inning as Gundelfinger was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded, bringing home Felix, before George scored as Freeman reached first on a fielders choice, giving the Mustangs a 7-1 lead.&nbsp;

The sixth inning started Sedalia's rally back as Paxton grounded out to first base bringing home&nbsp;Dalton Miller.&nbsp; In the seventh three more runs scored continuing the comeback bid, two coming home on a double by Miller as he drove in&nbsp;Carter Rice and&nbsp;Lance Vickers.&nbsp; Miller later scored on a double to left field by&nbsp;Connor Rice.&nbsp; Then in the eighth, the Bombers finally cut the lead to one as&nbsp;Sam Russo singled home&nbsp;Chris Miller.&nbsp;

Unable to add any runs in the bottom of the eighth, Sedalia stepped to the plate looking to tie the game in the ninth, and had a chance as Miller was hit by a pitch, and moved to second base on a wild pitch.&nbsp; Connor Rice singled, moving Miller to third, and Rice stole second base putting both the tying and go ahead runs in scoring position, but after Roberts struck out swinging, Miller was thrown out at home, being replaced at third base by Rice.&nbsp; Still in danger of the tie, Mustangs reliever&nbsp;Diego De Santiago forced Paxton to ground out to end the game.&nbsp;

East Buchanan alum Gage Busby earned the win in relief, after starter Jaren Guck of Northwest Missouri State failed to qualify for a decision.&nbsp; Busby pitched two innings and gave up one run on no hits, walking three and striking out one.&nbsp; At the plate, Freeman was 3-for-5 with a double and two RBI's.&nbsp; George was 3-for-4 with a double and an RBI, while Luikart was 2-for-3 with two stolen bases, a walk, and an RBI.

The Mustangs are now 22-5 on the year, 17-4 in the MINK League.&nbsp; They wrap up a three game homestand tomorrow against the Clarinda A's.&nbsp; The resumption of a suspended game against the A's will begin at 5:30 with the game tied 3-3 in the ninth inning, before the game the Police vs Fire game will take place at 4pm.&nbsp;&nbsp;

The originally scheduled game will have first pitch at 7pm.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/7/1751688310330.jpeg" alt="St. Joseph Mustangs and Sedalia Bombers players helped hold the large flag up during the National Anthem ahead of the Fourth of July game between the two teams.&nbsp; St. Joseph beat Sedalia 7-6/ Photo courtesy of KQ2 News Director Chris Roush" />
 <figcaption>St. Joseph Mustangs and Sedalia Bombers players helped hold the large flag up during the National Anthem ahead of the Fourth of July game between the two teams.&nbsp; St. Joseph beat Sedalia 7-6/ Photo courtesy of KQ2 News Director Chris Roush</figcaption>
 </figure>By MATT PIKEThe Sedalia Bombers rallied back from behind, and had the tying run at third base in the ninth inning, but the St. Joseph Mustangs held on to get a win on the Fourth of July at Phil Welch Stadium, beating the Bombers 7-6, remaining perfect on their short three game homestand.A sacrifice fly by Dom Felix put the Mustangs on the board first in the first inning, driving in Trevor McCollum for the opening run.&nbsp; But the Bombers tied things up in the second inning with an RBI single by&nbsp;Caden Paxton, bringing home&nbsp;Jadyn Roberts for the 1-1 tie.&nbsp; The Mustangs pulled away over the next three innings, scoring six unanswered runs.&nbsp;Three runs scored in the third inning, starting with McCollum doubling to left field and driving in Darius Freeman.&nbsp; McCollum scored himself on a single by Lafayette alum Brayden Luikart, and later in the inning Luikart came home for a run, that turned unearned due to a throwing error by pitcher Gavin Killion, scoring as Justin George reached on a fielders choice.&nbsp;In the fourth inning, Freeman extended the lead with an RBI double, driving in Tyler Gundelfinger.&nbsp; The final two runs were added in the fifth inning as Gundelfinger was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded, bringing home Felix, before George scored as Freeman reached first on a fielders choice, giving the Mustangs a 7-1 lead.&nbsp;The sixth inning started Sedalia's rally back as Paxton grounded out to first base bringing home&nbsp;Dalton Miller.&nbsp; In the seventh three more runs scored continuing the comeback bid, two coming home on a double by Miller as he drove in&nbsp;Carter Rice and&nbsp;Lance Vickers.&nbsp; Miller later scored on a double to left field by&nbsp;Connor Rice.&nbsp; Then in the eighth, the Bombers finally cut the lead to one as&nbsp;Sam Russo singled home&nbsp;Chris Miller.&nbsp;Unable to add any runs in the bottom of the eighth, Sedalia stepped to the plate looking to tie the game in the ninth, and had a chance as Miller was hit by a pitch, and moved to second base on a wild pitch.&nbsp; Connor Rice singled, moving Miller to third, and Rice stole second base putting both the tying and go ahead runs in scoring position, but after Roberts struck out swinging, Miller was thrown out at home, being replaced at third base by Rice.&nbsp; Still in danger of the tie, Mustangs reliever&nbsp;Diego De Santiago forced Paxton to ground out to end the game.&nbsp;East Buchanan alum Gage Busby earned the win in relief, after starter Jaren Guck of Northwest Missouri State failed to qualify for a decision.&nbsp; Busby pitched two innings and gave up one run on no hits, walking three and striking out one.&nbsp; At the plate, Freeman was 3-for-5 with a double and two RBI's.&nbsp; George was 3-for-4 with a double and an RBI, while Luikart was 2-for-3 with two stolen bases, a walk, and an RBI.The Mustangs are now 22-5 on the year, 17-4 in the MINK League.&nbsp; They wrap up a three game homestand tomorrow against the Clarinda A's.&nbsp; The resumption of a suspended game against the A's will begin at 5:30 with the game tied 3-3 in the ninth inning, before the game the Police vs Fire game will take place at 4pm.&nbsp;&nbsp;The originally scheduled game will have first pitch at 7pm.You can follow Matt on X @KfeqMatt.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;

Bombers rally but Mustangs hold on for Fourth of July win 7-6

The ball was flying at Wrigley Field as the Chicago Cubs set off the fireworks early on Independence Day, clobbering eight home runs, six off of St. Louis Cardinals starter Miles Mikolas, in an 11-3 blowout victory over the Redbirds.&nbsp;

In the bottom of the first inning the Cubs started the scoring with back to back home runs by Seiya Suzuki and Pete Crow-Armstrong, in the second inning Chicago went back to back again off of Mikolas to open the inning, Michael Busch hitting the first of his three home runs on the day, followed by former Cardinal Carson Kelly homering to left center field, giving Chicago a 4-0 lead.&nbsp;

In the third inning, Crow-Armstrong hit his second home run of the afternoon to lead off the inning, then after a single by Dansby Swanson, Busch hit his second home run to extend the lead even more for the Cubs.&nbsp; Trailing 7-0, Brendan Donovan joined the home run party in the fourth inning for the Cardinals with a solo home run to left center.&nbsp;

After not scoring in the fourth inning, Chicago got on the board again in the fifth, for the first time not on a home run, as Busch drove in his fourth run of the game with an RBI single, scoring Crow-Armstrong.&nbsp; In the seventh the home runs came again though, first by Dansby Swanson with a two run home run, driving in Crow-Armstrong, and then for the third time in the game the Cubs went back to back as Busch homered for the third time with a solo shot for the final run.&nbsp;

St. Louis added their final two runs in the ninth inning, Lars Nootbar singling home Garrett Hampson, who opened the inning with a double, and Nootbaar eventually coming around to score later in the inning on a bases loaded walk.&nbsp;

Mikolas took the loss, falling to 4-6 on the season, pitching six innings and giving up eight runs on ten hits while striking out four.&nbsp; The eight home runs were a new franchise record for the Cubs.&nbsp; At the plate, the Cardinals managed just three hits, Donovan going 1-for-3 with an RBI, Hampson going 1-for-1 with the double as a pinch hitter, and Nootbaar going 1-for-4 with an RBI.&nbsp; St. Louis was issued five walks by the Chicago pitchers.&nbsp;

St. Louis and Chicago continue their series tomorrow.&nbsp; Matthew Liberatore (6-6, 3.70 ERA) takes the mound for the Cardinals while the Cubs pitcher is currently listed as TBD.&nbsp; First pitch is at 1:20pm, coverage will be joined near the start at 1:10 on KY 102 (102.5 FM).

By MATT PIKEThe ball was flying at Wrigley Field as the Chicago Cubs set off the fireworks early on Independence Day, clobbering eight home runs, six off of St. Louis Cardinals starter Miles Mikolas, in an 11-3 blowout victory over the Redbirds.&nbsp;In the bottom of the first inning the Cubs started the scoring with back to back home runs by Seiya Suzuki and Pete Crow-Armstrong, in the second inning Chicago went back to back again off of Mikolas to open the inning, Michael Busch hitting the first of his three home runs on the day, followed by former Cardinal Carson Kelly homering to left center field, giving Chicago a 4-0 lead.&nbsp;In the third inning, Crow-Armstrong hit his second home run of the afternoon to lead off the inning, then after a single by Dansby Swanson, Busch hit his second home run to extend the lead even more for the Cubs.&nbsp; Trailing 7-0, Brendan Donovan joined the home run party in the fourth inning for the Cardinals with a solo home run to left center.&nbsp;After not scoring in the fourth inning, Chicago got on the board again in the fifth, for the first time not on a home run, as Busch drove in his fourth run of the game with an RBI single, scoring Crow-Armstrong.&nbsp; In the seventh the home runs came again though, first by Dansby Swanson with a two run home run, driving in Crow-Armstrong, and then for the third time in the game the Cubs went back to back as Busch homered for the third time with a solo shot for the final run.&nbsp;St. Louis added their final two runs in the ninth inning, Lars Nootbar singling home Garrett Hampson, who opened the inning with a double, and Nootbaar eventually coming around to score later in the inning on a bases loaded walk.&nbsp;Mikolas took the loss, falling to 4-6 on the season, pitching six innings and giving up eight runs on ten hits while striking out four.&nbsp; The eight home runs were a new franchise record for the Cubs.&nbsp; At the plate, the Cardinals managed just three hits, Donovan going 1-for-3 with an RBI, Hampson going 1-for-1 with the double as a pinch hitter, and Nootbaar going 1-for-4 with an RBI.&nbsp; St. Louis was issued five walks by the Chicago pitchers.&nbsp;St. Louis and Chicago continue their series tomorrow.&nbsp; Matthew Liberatore (6-6, 3.70 ERA) takes the mound for the Cardinals while the Cubs pitcher is currently listed as TBD.&nbsp; First pitch is at 1:20pm, coverage will be joined near the start at 1:10 on KY 102 (102.5 FM).You can follow Matt on X @KfeqMatt.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;

Cubs set off fireworks early in 11-3 blowout win over Cardinals

The Kansas City Royals trailed for most of the game, but came up big in the seventh inning to earn a series split with the Seattle Mariners, avoiding wasting a quality start by Seth Lugo, winning 3-2 on Thursday night at T-Mobile Park.

Jorge Polanco hit a solo home run for the Mariners in the fourth inning, giving Seattle a 1-0 lead, a lead which they would hold until the seventh inning.&nbsp; The Royals did threaten in the sixth, after Salvador Perez doubled and John Rave walked, but Nick Loftin flew out to end that threat, setting Kansas City up to take the lead the very next inning.&nbsp;

In the seventh, after Freddy Fermin lined out to open the inning, Kyle Isbel and Jonathan India got back to back walks bringing Bobby Witt Jr to the plate as the Mariners brought on reliever Carlos Vargas.&nbsp; Witt Jr greeted Vargas with a single into center field, tying the game up driving in Isbel and moving India to third.&nbsp; After Witt Jr stole second base, his 24th stolen base of the season, Vinnie Pasquantino singled into right field bringing home India and also Witt Jr as the Royals star shortstop made a sliding play at home plate, swimming around the catcher to avoid the tag to score.&nbsp;

In the bottom of the ninth inning, against Royals closer&nbsp;Carlos Estévez,&nbsp;Dominic Canzone hit a solo home run to cut the lead to one.&nbsp;&nbsp;Miles Mastrobuoni pinch hit and got a single, and after Estévez struckout Cole Young, J.P Crawford singled, putting the closer in danger.&nbsp; Mastrobuoni and Crawford both moved into scoring position on a wild pitch, but&nbsp;Estévez struck out Julio Rodriguez and then got Cal Raleigh to groundout to end the game, earning his 24th save.&nbsp;

Lugo earned the win, improving to 6-5 on the season, pitching 6 1/3 innings and giving up one run on six hits, striking out seven and walking two.&nbsp; At the plate, Witt Jr. was 1-for-5 with a stolen base and an RBI while Pasquantino was 1-for-4 with two RBI's as Kansas City had just five hits.&nbsp;

Kansas City now travels to Arizona for a weekend series, starting with an Independence Day matchup.&nbsp; Kris Bubic (6-6, 2.25 ERA) takes the mound for the Royals in the opener against&nbsp;Eduardo Rodriguez (3-4, 5.13 ERA) for the Diamondbacks.&nbsp; First pitch is at 8:40pm, pregame begins at 8 on KFEQ (680AM/95.3FM).

You can follow Matt on X @KfeqMatt.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;

By MATT PIKEThe Kansas City Royals trailed for most of the game, but came up big in the seventh inning to earn a series split with the Seattle Mariners, avoiding wasting a quality start by Seth Lugo, winning 3-2 on Thursday night at T-Mobile Park.Jorge Polanco hit a solo home run for the Mariners in the fourth inning, giving Seattle a 1-0 lead, a lead which they would hold until the seventh inning.&nbsp; The Royals did threaten in the sixth, after Salvador Perez doubled and John Rave walked, but Nick Loftin flew out to end that threat, setting Kansas City up to take the lead the very next inning.&nbsp;In the seventh, after Freddy Fermin lined out to open the inning, Kyle Isbel and Jonathan India got back to back walks bringing Bobby Witt Jr to the plate as the Mariners brought on reliever Carlos Vargas.&nbsp; Witt Jr greeted Vargas with a single into center field, tying the game up driving in Isbel and moving India to third.&nbsp; After Witt Jr stole second base, his 24th stolen base of the season, Vinnie Pasquantino singled into right field bringing home India and also Witt Jr as the Royals star shortstop made a sliding play at home plate, swimming around the catcher to avoid the tag to score.&nbsp;<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Bobby outrageous! 🤯 <a href="https://t.co/mbafn4tP2o">pic.twitter.com/mbafn4tP2o</a>&mdash; Kansas City Royals (@Royals) <a href="https://twitter.com/Royals/status/1940985709466472537?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 4, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>In the bottom of the ninth inning, against Royals closer&nbsp;Carlos Estévez,&nbsp;Dominic Canzone hit a solo home run to cut the lead to one.&nbsp;&nbsp;Miles Mastrobuoni pinch hit and got a single, and after Estévez struckout Cole Young, J.P Crawford singled, putting the closer in danger.&nbsp; Mastrobuoni and Crawford both moved into scoring position on a wild pitch, but&nbsp;Estévez struck out Julio Rodriguez and then got Cal Raleigh to groundout to end the game, earning his 24th save.&nbsp;Lugo earned the win, improving to 6-5 on the season, pitching 6 1/3 innings and giving up one run on six hits, striking out seven and walking two.&nbsp; At the plate, Witt Jr. was 1-for-5 with a stolen base and an RBI while Pasquantino was 1-for-4 with two RBI's as Kansas City had just five hits.&nbsp;Kansas City now travels to Arizona for a weekend series, starting with an Independence Day matchup.&nbsp; Kris Bubic (6-6, 2.25 ERA) takes the mound for the Royals in the opener against&nbsp;Eduardo Rodriguez (3-4, 5.13 ERA) for the Diamondbacks.&nbsp; First pitch is at 8:40pm, pregame begins at 8 on KFEQ (680AM/95.3FM).You can follow Matt on X @KfeqMatt.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;

Royals offense storms back to steal series split from Mariners with 3-2 win

The St. Joseph Mustangs avenged a road loss to the Chillicothe Mudcats on Tuesday, clobbering the Mudcats at Phil Welch Stadium on Thursday night for a seven inning run rule victory, winning 16-5 to open a three game homestand.&nbsp;

After&nbsp;Jarian Pickney scored the opening run for the Mudcats in the first inning on a passed ball, the Mustangs, who scored just three runs on Tuesday, scored eight unanswered runs to take the lead, first scoring twice in the bottom of the first as Jack Mosh singled home Trevor McCollum and Lafayette alum Brayden Luikart scored on a throwing error by right fielder Jordi Ventura.

Another two runs scored in the second inning for the Mustangs, Darius Freeman singling home Northwest Missouri State's Parker Griffith, and then as Freeman stole second base, Savannah alum Truman Bodenhausen came home on a throwing error by catcher Bruce Boucher.&nbsp; In the third inning, another four runs scored, first with an RBI single by Benton alum Chris Coy driving in Mosh.&nbsp; Coy scored later in the inning on a groundout by Bodenhausen, and another two runs came in with a single from Freeman, driving in Griffith and Lafayette alum Jayden Little.&nbsp;

Chillicothe did add a run to the board in the fourth inning on an RBI single by Boucher, bringing home&nbsp;John Spoto, but the Mustangs got that run back in the bottom half of the inning on another single by Coy, driving in Luikart to push the Mustangs lead to 9-2, ahead of a big five run inning in the fifth by St. Joseph, an inning that started with yet another RBI single by Freeman driving in Griffith.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Continuing to pour it on in the fifth inning, Luikart drove in his first runs of the game with a two RBI double, bringing home Bodenhausen and Freeman, before scoring himself, along with McCollum, to end the scoring in the frame on a double by Dom Felix.&nbsp; Luikart added another RBI in the sixth inning with a bases loaded walk, bringing home Bodenhausen, and Felix added another RBI as well in the inning with a sacrifice fly scoring Freeman to give the Mustangs a 16-2 lead.&nbsp;

With their backs against the wall facing the run rule defeat entering the seventh, the Mudcats attempted to make a push to get out of&nbsp; the deficit, Pickney reaching on a fielders choice and bringing home Boucher for an unearned run.&nbsp; The final two runs scored on a two RBI single by pinch hitter&nbsp;Derin Doucet, driving in Pickney and&nbsp;Ethan Murakoshi, but needing at least two more runs, with the bases loaded after back to back walks to Ventura and&nbsp;Tanner Sears, Mustangs reliever Jase Johnson struck out the final two batters to end the game.

Austin Nance earned the win for the Mustangs, pitching five innings and giving up two runs on four hits, striking out four and walking one.&nbsp; At the plate, Luikart was 3-for-3 with a double, a stolen base, two walks, and three RBI's.&nbsp; Freeman was 4-for-5 with a double and four RBI's.&nbsp;

The Mustangs are now 21-5 on the season, 16-4 in the MINK League, and they stay home next to play the Sedalia Bombers at Phil Welch Stadium with first pitch at 7pm.&nbsp;

By MATT PIKEThe St. Joseph Mustangs avenged a road loss to the Chillicothe Mudcats on Tuesday, clobbering the Mudcats at Phil Welch Stadium on Thursday night for a seven inning run rule victory, winning 16-5 to open a three game homestand.&nbsp;After&nbsp;Jarian Pickney scored the opening run for the Mudcats in the first inning on a passed ball, the Mustangs, who scored just three runs on Tuesday, scored eight unanswered runs to take the lead, first scoring twice in the bottom of the first as Jack Mosh singled home Trevor McCollum and Lafayette alum Brayden Luikart scored on a throwing error by right fielder Jordi Ventura.Another two runs scored in the second inning for the Mustangs, Darius Freeman singling home Northwest Missouri State's Parker Griffith, and then as Freeman stole second base, Savannah alum Truman Bodenhausen came home on a throwing error by catcher Bruce Boucher.&nbsp; In the third inning, another four runs scored, first with an RBI single by Benton alum Chris Coy driving in Mosh.&nbsp; Coy scored later in the inning on a groundout by Bodenhausen, and another two runs came in with a single from Freeman, driving in Griffith and Lafayette alum Jayden Little.&nbsp;Chillicothe did add a run to the board in the fourth inning on an RBI single by Boucher, bringing home&nbsp;John Spoto, but the Mustangs got that run back in the bottom half of the inning on another single by Coy, driving in Luikart to push the Mustangs lead to 9-2, ahead of a big five run inning in the fifth by St. Joseph, an inning that started with yet another RBI single by Freeman driving in Griffith.&nbsp;&nbsp;Continuing to pour it on in the fifth inning, Luikart drove in his first runs of the game with a two RBI double, bringing home Bodenhausen and Freeman, before scoring himself, along with McCollum, to end the scoring in the frame on a double by Dom Felix.&nbsp; Luikart added another RBI in the sixth inning with a bases loaded walk, bringing home Bodenhausen, and Felix added another RBI as well in the inning with a sacrifice fly scoring Freeman to give the Mustangs a 16-2 lead.&nbsp;With their backs against the wall facing the run rule defeat entering the seventh, the Mudcats attempted to make a push to get out of&nbsp; the deficit, Pickney reaching on a fielders choice and bringing home Boucher for an unearned run.&nbsp; The final two runs scored on a two RBI single by pinch hitter&nbsp;Derin Doucet, driving in Pickney and&nbsp;Ethan Murakoshi, but needing at least two more runs, with the bases loaded after back to back walks to Ventura and&nbsp;Tanner Sears, Mustangs reliever Jase Johnson struck out the final two batters to end the game.Austin Nance earned the win for the Mustangs, pitching five innings and giving up two runs on four hits, striking out four and walking one.&nbsp; At the plate, Luikart was 3-for-3 with a double, a stolen base, two walks, and three RBI's.&nbsp; Freeman was 4-for-5 with a double and four RBI's.&nbsp;The Mustangs are now 21-5 on the season, 16-4 in the MINK League, and they stay home next to play the Sedalia Bombers at Phil Welch Stadium with first pitch at 7pm.&nbsp;You can follow Matt on X @KfeqMatt.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;

Mustangs avenge road loss with run rule victory over Chillicothe

The Kansas City Royals bullpen blew a solid start from St. Joseph's Noah Cameron, as the Royals dropped the third game of their series with the Seattle Mariners at T-Mobile Park 3-2, setting up the finale tomorrow searching for a series split.&nbsp;

The Royals jumped out in front in the first inning for Cameron, with Salvador Perez singling home Bobby Witt Jr who singled earlier in the inning and stole second base.&nbsp; With the lead, Cameron pitched 4 2/3 shutout innings before he was replaced by John Schreiber with two runners in scoring position in the fifth inning.&nbsp;

Schreiber escaped that jam, but in the sixth surrendered a game tying home run to Randy Arozarena, his fourth home run of the series.&nbsp; Schreiber was replaced later in the inning by Angel Zerpa, and Zerpa went on to give up the lead in the seventh inning as Julio Rodriguez singled home Ben Williamson off Steven Cruz who replaced Zerpa in the seventh, the run being charged to Zerpa.&nbsp; Cole Young, another runner left on by Zerpa, scored on a sacrifice fly by Arozarena in the inning as well.&nbsp;

Perez drove in another run in the eighth inning for Kansas City with another single, bringing home Witt Jr again.&nbsp; But in the ninth inning, Mariners closer&nbsp;Andrés Muñoz retired the Royals 1-2-3 for his 19th save of the season.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Zerpa took the loss, falling to 3-1 on the season, pitching 2/3 of an inning and giving up two runs on one hit.&nbsp; At the plate for the Royals, Witt Jr was 2-for-2 with a stolen base and two walks, scoring two runs.&nbsp; Perez was 2-for-4 with two RBI's.&nbsp;

Kansas City and Seattle wrap up their series tomorrow.&nbsp; Seth Lugo (5-5, 2.74 ERA) takes the mound for the Royals against&nbsp;Bryan Woo (7-4, 2.93 ERA) for the Mariners.&nbsp; First pitch is at 9:10pm, pregame begins at 8:30 on KFEQ (680AM/95.3FM).&nbsp;

By MATT PIKEThe Kansas City Royals bullpen blew a solid start from St. Joseph's Noah Cameron, as the Royals dropped the third game of their series with the Seattle Mariners at T-Mobile Park 3-2, setting up the finale tomorrow searching for a series split.&nbsp;The Royals jumped out in front in the first inning for Cameron, with Salvador Perez singling home Bobby Witt Jr who singled earlier in the inning and stole second base.&nbsp; With the lead, Cameron pitched 4 2/3 shutout innings before he was replaced by John Schreiber with two runners in scoring position in the fifth inning.&nbsp;Schreiber escaped that jam, but in the sixth surrendered a game tying home run to Randy Arozarena, his fourth home run of the series.&nbsp; Schreiber was replaced later in the inning by Angel Zerpa, and Zerpa went on to give up the lead in the seventh inning as Julio Rodriguez singled home Ben Williamson off Steven Cruz who replaced Zerpa in the seventh, the run being charged to Zerpa.&nbsp; Cole Young, another runner left on by Zerpa, scored on a sacrifice fly by Arozarena in the inning as well.&nbsp;Perez drove in another run in the eighth inning for Kansas City with another single, bringing home Witt Jr again.&nbsp; But in the ninth inning, Mariners closer&nbsp;Andrés Muñoz retired the Royals 1-2-3 for his 19th save of the season.&nbsp;&nbsp;Zerpa took the loss, falling to 3-1 on the season, pitching 2/3 of an inning and giving up two runs on one hit.&nbsp; At the plate for the Royals, Witt Jr was 2-for-2 with a stolen base and two walks, scoring two runs.&nbsp; Perez was 2-for-4 with two RBI's.&nbsp;Kansas City and Seattle wrap up their series tomorrow.&nbsp; Seth Lugo (5-5, 2.74 ERA) takes the mound for the Royals against&nbsp;Bryan Woo (7-4, 2.93 ERA) for the Mariners.&nbsp; First pitch is at 9:10pm, pregame begins at 8:30 on KFEQ (680AM/95.3FM).&nbsp;You can follow Matt on X @KfeqMatt.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;

Royals bullpen blows solid start from Cameron as Kansas City falls 3-2

It was just one series ago the St. Louis Cardinals swept the Cleveland Guardians in a three game series, outscoring the Guardians 21-6. 

But, in a series in Pittsburgh against their NL Central foes the Pirates, the Cardinals offense went ice cold, not scoring a single run over three games and falling in their series finale on Wednesday afternoon 5-0 at PNC Park as the Pirates outscored the Redbirds 13-0 over the three games.&nbsp;

Sonny Gray could not follow up his brilliant one hit complete game shutout performance where he struckout 11 Guardians against the Pirates, giving up a run in the second inning as former Cardinal Tommy Pham singled to drive in Oneil Cruz who doubled to lead off the inning and had stolen third base for his 28th stolen base of the year.&nbsp;

Gray seemed to settle in after the run however, retiring the next 14 batters, until the seventh inning when he walked Nick Gonzales, who later scored on a single again by Pham, driving in his second RBI of the day, and advancing Ke'Bryan Hayes to second base.&nbsp; Riley O'Brien replaced Gray on the mound and forced Henry Davis into a groundout that moved both Pham and Hayes another 90 feet, setting up two runners in scoring positon for Isiah Kiner-Falefa who singled to drive both in.&nbsp; Then on a single by Spencer Horwitz, Kiner-Falefa, who had advanced to second base on a wild pitch, came home to score the final run.&nbsp;

Gray took the loss, falling to 8-3 on the year, pitching 6 1/3 innings and giving up four runs on five hits while striking out six and walking one.&nbsp; At the plate, Alec Burleson was 1-for-2 with two walks for the Cardinals.&nbsp; Five other Redbirds had one hit each.&nbsp;

St. Louis is off tomorrow and travel to Chicago on the Fourth of July.&nbsp; Miles Mikolas (4-5, 4.76 ERA) will take the mound for the Cardinals in the Independence Day matchup while the Cubs starter is listed as TBD.&nbsp; First pitch is at 1:20pm, coverage will be joined near the start at 1:10 on KY 102 (102.5 FM).

By MATT PIKEIt was just one series ago the St. Louis Cardinals swept the Cleveland Guardians in a three game series, outscoring the Guardians 21-6. But, in a series in Pittsburgh against their NL Central foes the Pirates, the Cardinals offense went ice cold, not scoring a single run over three games and falling in their series finale on Wednesday afternoon 5-0 at PNC Park as the Pirates outscored the Redbirds 13-0 over the three games.&nbsp;Sonny Gray could not follow up his brilliant one hit complete game shutout performance where he struckout 11 Guardians against the Pirates, giving up a run in the second inning as former Cardinal Tommy Pham singled to drive in Oneil Cruz who doubled to lead off the inning and had stolen third base for his 28th stolen base of the year.&nbsp;Gray seemed to settle in after the run however, retiring the next 14 batters, until the seventh inning when he walked Nick Gonzales, who later scored on a single again by Pham, driving in his second RBI of the day, and advancing Ke'Bryan Hayes to second base.&nbsp; Riley O'Brien replaced Gray on the mound and forced Henry Davis into a groundout that moved both Pham and Hayes another 90 feet, setting up two runners in scoring positon for Isiah Kiner-Falefa who singled to drive both in.&nbsp; Then on a single by Spencer Horwitz, Kiner-Falefa, who had advanced to second base on a wild pitch, came home to score the final run.&nbsp;Gray took the loss, falling to 8-3 on the year, pitching 6 1/3 innings and giving up four runs on five hits while striking out six and walking one.&nbsp; At the plate, Alec Burleson was 1-for-2 with two walks for the Cardinals.&nbsp; Five other Redbirds had one hit each.&nbsp;St. Louis is off tomorrow and travel to Chicago on the Fourth of July.&nbsp; Miles Mikolas (4-5, 4.76 ERA) will take the mound for the Cardinals in the Independence Day matchup while the Cubs starter is listed as TBD.&nbsp; First pitch is at 1:20pm, coverage will be joined near the start at 1:10 on KY 102 (102.5 FM).You can follow Matt on X @KfeqMatt.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;

Pirates sweep Cardinals with 5-0 win  as Redbirds offense goes ice cold

Putting a rough June behind them, the Kansas City Royals got July off to a good start with some better luck, beating the Seattle Mariners 6-3 at T-Mobile Park on Tuesday night and evening up the series heading into game three on Wednesday.&nbsp;

After Jonathan India led off the game with a double, the Royals opened the scoring in the first inning as Maikel Garcia singled him home.&nbsp; Kansas City extended the lead in the second inning following Jac Caglianone's leadoff walk, Nick Loftin's RBI double driving in the Royals top prospect, before Loftin scored as Kyle Isbel grounded into a forceout.&nbsp; Seattle did cut into the lead in the bottom of the second inning, as Randy Arozarena hit a solo home run, after hitting two home runs in Monday's series opener.&nbsp;

In the fifth inning, the Royals again added to their lead.&nbsp; With Bobby Witt Jr and Vinnie Pasquantino on base, Salvador Perez hit a blast to right center field, which looked like it might have been a three run home run, but stayed in play for a two RBI double by the Kansas City captain.&nbsp; With the double, Perez passed Alex Gordon for the sixth most hits in Royals history.

The Mariners cut back into the lead in the bottom half of the inning, scoring their final two runs.&nbsp; Ben Williamson doubled home Luke Raley who had doubled himself to open the inning.&nbsp; Williamson later scored on a single by J.P Crawford.&nbsp; Kansas City added a final run of insurance in the ninth inning, Perez singling home Witt Jr who doubled earlier in the inning.&nbsp;&nbsp;Carlos Estévez came on in the ninth to close things out, earning his 23rd save for the Royals.&nbsp;

Lucas Erceg earned the win in relief for Kansas City, improving to 3-2, pitching one clean inning.&nbsp; Royals starter Michael Lorenzen in a no decision pitched 4 2/3 innings giving up three runs on six hits, striking out five.&nbsp; At the plate, Perez was 3-for-5 with three RBI's.&nbsp; Witt Jr was 2-for-5 batting with a stolen base and two runs scored.&nbsp;

With the series split, Kansas City looks to take game three against Seattle tomorrow.&nbsp; Noah Cameron (2-4, 2.79 ERA) takes the mound for the Royals against Logan Gilbert (2-2, 3.55 ERA) for the Mariners.&nbsp; First pitch is again at 8:40pm, pregame coverage starts at 8 on KFEQ (680AM/95.3FM).&nbsp;

By MATT PIKEPutting a rough June behind them, the Kansas City Royals got July off to a good start with some better luck, beating the Seattle Mariners 6-3 at T-Mobile Park on Tuesday night and evening up the series heading into game three on Wednesday.&nbsp;After Jonathan India led off the game with a double, the Royals opened the scoring in the first inning as Maikel Garcia singled him home.&nbsp; Kansas City extended the lead in the second inning following Jac Caglianone's leadoff walk, Nick Loftin's RBI double driving in the Royals top prospect, before Loftin scored as Kyle Isbel grounded into a forceout.&nbsp; Seattle did cut into the lead in the bottom of the second inning, as Randy Arozarena hit a solo home run, after hitting two home runs in Monday's series opener.&nbsp;In the fifth inning, the Royals again added to their lead.&nbsp; With Bobby Witt Jr and Vinnie Pasquantino on base, Salvador Perez hit a blast to right center field, which looked like it might have been a three run home run, but stayed in play for a two RBI double by the Kansas City captain.&nbsp; With the double, Perez passed Alex Gordon for the sixth most hits in Royals history.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">With this two-run double, Salvador Perez has passed Alex Gordon for the 6th-most hits in Royals history. <a href="https://t.co/npZXnjD5k3">pic.twitter.com/npZXnjD5k3</a>&mdash; Kansas City Royals (@Royals) <a href="https://twitter.com/Royals/status/1940247197423165539?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 2, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>The Mariners cut back into the lead in the bottom half of the inning, scoring their final two runs.&nbsp; Ben Williamson doubled home Luke Raley who had doubled himself to open the inning.&nbsp; Williamson later scored on a single by J.P Crawford.&nbsp; Kansas City added a final run of insurance in the ninth inning, Perez singling home Witt Jr who doubled earlier in the inning.&nbsp;&nbsp;Carlos Estévez came on in the ninth to close things out, earning his 23rd save for the Royals.&nbsp;Lucas Erceg earned the win in relief for Kansas City, improving to 3-2, pitching one clean inning.&nbsp; Royals starter Michael Lorenzen in a no decision pitched 4 2/3 innings giving up three runs on six hits, striking out five.&nbsp; At the plate, Perez was 3-for-5 with three RBI's.&nbsp; Witt Jr was 2-for-5 batting with a stolen base and two runs scored.&nbsp;With the series split, Kansas City looks to take game three against Seattle tomorrow.&nbsp; Noah Cameron (2-4, 2.79 ERA) takes the mound for the Royals against Logan Gilbert (2-2, 3.55 ERA) for the Mariners.&nbsp; First pitch is again at 8:40pm, pregame coverage starts at 8 on KFEQ (680AM/95.3FM).&nbsp;You can follow Matt on X @KfeqMatt.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;

Royals open new month with better luck, beating Mariners 6-3

The St. Joseph Mustangs tied up the game in the third inning against the Chillicothe Mudcats, but the Mudcats scored seven unanswered runs on way to a 10-3 win over the Mustangs, handing St. Joseph their second straight loss on Tuesday night.&nbsp;

The Mustangs opened the scoring in the first inning on a sacrifice fly by Dom Felix, driving in Savannah alum Truman Bodenhausen.&nbsp; In the bottom half of the inning, the Mudcats took the lead scoring three runs on a three run home run by&nbsp;Tanner Sears that scored&nbsp;Garret Geenen and&nbsp;Jordi Ventura for a 3-1 lead.&nbsp;

An Easton Phillipe single drove in Trevor McCollum in the second inning, cutting the Mudcats lead to one, before the Mustangs tied the game up in the third inning on an RBI double by McCollum, bringing home Felix.&nbsp; In the bottom half of the third though, Chillicothe took the lead back for good,&nbsp;John Spoto doubling to drive in Geenan, advancing Sears to third base who scored on a wild pitch.&nbsp;&nbsp;Derin Doucet reached on a fielders choice&nbsp; and Spoto scored on an error by third baseman Tyler Gundelfinger

Chillicothe added two more runs in the fourth inning.&nbsp; &nbsp;Ventura singled with the bases loaded to drive in&nbsp;Ethan Murakoshi, keeping the bases loaded.&nbsp; Spoto reached on a fielders choice with the bases loaded and&nbsp;Jarian Pickney scored on another error by Gundelfinger.&nbsp; In the seventh inning, the final two runs scored, the first on a bases loaded walk to&nbsp;Rafael Calcano, scoring&nbsp;Bruce Boucher, before&nbsp;Clayton Eskra scored on a wild pitch.&nbsp;

Chillicothe got to left handed pitcher Landon Reith who had been stellar for the Mustangs this season, handing him the loss pitching four innings and giving up eight runs on nine hits, striking out six and walking one.&nbsp; At the plate, Felix was 2-for-3 with a double and an RBI.&nbsp; McCollum was 2-for-4 with a double, a stolen base, and an RBI.&nbsp;&nbsp;

The Mustangs are now 20-5 on the season, and 15-4 in the MINK League, and are off on Wednesday.&nbsp; They return to Phil Welch Stadium on Thursday and will host Chillicothe, with first pitch at 7pm.&nbsp;

By MATT PIKEThe St. Joseph Mustangs tied up the game in the third inning against the Chillicothe Mudcats, but the Mudcats scored seven unanswered runs on way to a 10-3 win over the Mustangs, handing St. Joseph their second straight loss on Tuesday night.&nbsp;The Mustangs opened the scoring in the first inning on a sacrifice fly by Dom Felix, driving in Savannah alum Truman Bodenhausen.&nbsp; In the bottom half of the inning, the Mudcats took the lead scoring three runs on a three run home run by&nbsp;Tanner Sears that scored&nbsp;Garret Geenen and&nbsp;Jordi Ventura for a 3-1 lead.&nbsp;An Easton Phillipe single drove in Trevor McCollum in the second inning, cutting the Mudcats lead to one, before the Mustangs tied the game up in the third inning on an RBI double by McCollum, bringing home Felix.&nbsp; In the bottom half of the third though, Chillicothe took the lead back for good,&nbsp;John Spoto doubling to drive in Geenan, advancing Sears to third base who scored on a wild pitch.&nbsp;&nbsp;Derin Doucet reached on a fielders choice&nbsp; and Spoto scored on an error by third baseman Tyler GundelfingerChillicothe added two more runs in the fourth inning.&nbsp; &nbsp;Ventura singled with the bases loaded to drive in&nbsp;Ethan Murakoshi, keeping the bases loaded.&nbsp; Spoto reached on a fielders choice with the bases loaded and&nbsp;Jarian Pickney scored on another error by Gundelfinger.&nbsp; In the seventh inning, the final two runs scored, the first on a bases loaded walk to&nbsp;Rafael Calcano, scoring&nbsp;Bruce Boucher, before&nbsp;Clayton Eskra scored on a wild pitch.&nbsp;Chillicothe got to left handed pitcher Landon Reith who had been stellar for the Mustangs this season, handing him the loss pitching four innings and giving up eight runs on nine hits, striking out six and walking one.&nbsp; At the plate, Felix was 2-for-3 with a double and an RBI.&nbsp; McCollum was 2-for-4 with a double, a stolen base, and an RBI.&nbsp;&nbsp;The Mustangs are now 20-5 on the season, and 15-4 in the MINK League, and are off on Wednesday.&nbsp; They return to Phil Welch Stadium on Thursday and will host Chillicothe, with first pitch at 7pm.&nbsp;You can follow Matt on X @KfeqMatt.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;

Mustangs drop second game in a row, fall to Chillicothe 10-3

The Pittsburgh Pirates needed just one run to take down the St. Louis Cardinals at PNC Park on Tuesday night, securing a series win, though a win against the Cardinals still avoided young Pirates ace Paul Skenes despite another brilliant start.&nbsp;

Skenes shut down the Cardinals over five innings of a pitchers duel, giving up five hits and striking out five while walking one, but was countered by an excellent start from St. Louis starter Andre Pallante who threw seven shutout innings, striking out three, walking two, and giving up just one hit to the Pirates.&nbsp;

It wasn't until reliever Phil Maton came on in the eighth inning that Pittsburgh was able to get on the board.&nbsp; Ke'Bryan Hayes singled off Maton to lead off the inning, and moved to third on a double by Adam Frazier, before scoring on a sacrifice fly by Henry Davis for the only run that the Pirates would need in the game.

Maton took the loss, falling to 1-3, pitching just the one inning and giving up one run on three hits, striking out one batter.&nbsp; At the plate, the Cardinals did get seven hits overall, but no batter had more than one.&nbsp; Brendan Donovan was 1-for-4 with a walk, while&nbsp;José Fermín was 1-for-3 with a walk.&nbsp;

St. Louis looks to avoid a sweep tomorrow as they wrap up their series with Pittsburgh.&nbsp; Sonny Gray (8-2, 3.36 ERA) takes the mound for the Cardinals, after most recently throwing a one hit complete game shutout against Cleveland, taking on Mitch Keller (2-10, 3.90 ERA) for the Pirates.&nbsp; First pitch is at 11:35am, coverage will be joined near the start at 11:25 on KY 102 (102.5 FM).&nbsp;

By MATT PIKEThe Pittsburgh Pirates needed just one run to take down the St. Louis Cardinals at PNC Park on Tuesday night, securing a series win, though a win against the Cardinals still avoided young Pirates ace Paul Skenes despite another brilliant start.&nbsp;Skenes shut down the Cardinals over five innings of a pitchers duel, giving up five hits and striking out five while walking one, but was countered by an excellent start from St. Louis starter Andre Pallante who threw seven shutout innings, striking out three, walking two, and giving up just one hit to the Pirates.&nbsp;It wasn't until reliever Phil Maton came on in the eighth inning that Pittsburgh was able to get on the board.&nbsp; Ke'Bryan Hayes singled off Maton to lead off the inning, and moved to third on a double by Adam Frazier, before scoring on a sacrifice fly by Henry Davis for the only run that the Pirates would need in the game.Maton took the loss, falling to 1-3, pitching just the one inning and giving up one run on three hits, striking out one batter.&nbsp; At the plate, the Cardinals did get seven hits overall, but no batter had more than one.&nbsp; Brendan Donovan was 1-for-4 with a walk, while&nbsp;José Fermín was 1-for-3 with a walk.&nbsp;St. Louis looks to avoid a sweep tomorrow as they wrap up their series with Pittsburgh.&nbsp; Sonny Gray (8-2, 3.36 ERA) takes the mound for the Cardinals, after most recently throwing a one hit complete game shutout against Cleveland, taking on Mitch Keller (2-10, 3.90 ERA) for the Pirates.&nbsp; First pitch is at 11:35am, coverage will be joined near the start at 11:25 on KY 102 (102.5 FM).&nbsp;You can follow Matt on X @KfeqMatt.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;

Pirates need just one run to take down Cardinals securing series win

The St. Joseph Mustangs will celebrate the Fourth of July all weekend long, starting early with Thursday with three days of fireworks extravaganzas at Phil Welch Stadium.  

General Manager and Owner Ky Turner says playing at a stadium within a community, it's unique to play at Phil Welch on the Fourth of July 

"Here's a ballpark and there's houses all around us, well what do those houses do around that holiday? They shoot off fireworks too, so it's really kind of like a 360 of fireworks when you're sitting there watching a baseball game," Turner says on the KFEQmunnity show.  "You know, they talk about the batter's eye and being able to pay attention to that pitch, I don't know how you do that when you've got fireworks going off all around you, but it makes for a great show for us in the stands." 

Fireworks extravaganza will highlight the end of each Mustangs home game during the holiday. Turner says there are also some other fun things going on as well 

"On the 3rd we are hosting Sluggerrr from the Kansas City Royals and Fredbird, thanks to Eagle Radio, from the St. Louis Cardinals, they'll be there for a meet and greet, we'll have pregame skydivers, notice I didn't say Sluggerrr and Fredbird are skydiving but they will be there," Turner says.  "And then the 4th we have a Mr. and Miss Mustangs competition which is a blast." 

On Saturday the 5th, the Mustangs will also honor area fire, police, and EMT personnel.  The pregame police versus fire softball game will also be held on that day.

Turner says the games will also be an opportunity to thank some of our nation’s heroes 

"On the 3rd all veterans and active military receive two free general admission tickets, we're going to honor some local military heroes for pregame that night, and then on the 4th all retired and active military can get two free party deck tickets, we do encourage people to reserve those in advance as they can sell out," Turner explains.  "But we're here to celebrate and honor America playing America's game, you know America's pastime is baseball, we've got fireworks, of course we've got the hot dogs." 

The Mustangs kick off things on Thursday against the Chillicothe Mudcats.  All games over the holiday begin at 7pm.

You can follow Matt on X @KfeqMatt.&nbsp; &nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/7/1751389450759.jpeg" alt="The St. Joseph Mustangs will celebrate the Fourth of July holiday for three consecutive days at Phil Welch Stadium, starting on Thursday and going through Saturday/ Photo courtesy of the St. Joseph Mustangs Facebook" />
 <figcaption>The St. Joseph Mustangs will celebrate the Fourth of July holiday for three consecutive days at Phil Welch Stadium, starting on Thursday and going through Saturday/ Photo courtesy of the St. Joseph Mustangs Facebook</figcaption>
 </figure>By MATT PIKE The St. Joseph Mustangs will celebrate the Fourth of July all weekend long, starting early with Thursday with three days of fireworks extravaganzas at Phil Welch Stadium. General Manager and Owner Ky Turner says playing at a stadium within a community, it's unique to play at Phil Welch on the Fourth of July "Here's a ballpark and there's houses all around us, well what do those houses do around that holiday? They shoot off fireworks too, so it's really kind of like a 360 of fireworks when you're sitting there watching a baseball game," Turner says on the KFEQmunnity show. "You know, they talk about the batter's eye and being able to pay attention to that pitch, I don't know how you do that when you've got fireworks going off all around you, but it makes for a great show for us in the stands." Fireworks extravaganza will highlight the end of each Mustangs home game during the holiday. Turner says there are also some other fun things going on as well "On the 3rd we are hosting Sluggerrr from the Kansas City Royals and Fredbird, thanks to Eagle Radio, from the St. Louis Cardinals, they'll be there for a meet and greet, we'll have pregame skydivers, notice I didn't say Sluggerrr and Fredbird are skydiving but they will be there," Turner says. "And then the 4th we have a Mr. and Miss Mustangs competition which is a blast." On Saturday the 5th, the Mustangs will also honor area fire, police, and EMT personnel. The pregame police versus fire softball game will also be held on that day.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/7/1751389710599.jpeg" alt="Fireworks over Phil Welch Stadium/ Photo courtesy of St. Joseph Mustangs" />
 <figcaption>Fireworks over Phil Welch Stadium/ Photo courtesy of St. Joseph Mustangs</figcaption>
 </figure>Turner says the games will also be an opportunity to thank some of our nation’s heroes "On the 3rd all veterans and active military receive two free general admission tickets, we're going to honor some local military heroes for pregame that night, and then on the 4th all retired and active military can get two free party deck tickets, we do encourage people to reserve those in advance as they can sell out," Turner explains. "But we're here to celebrate and honor America playing America's game, you know America's pastime is baseball, we've got fireworks, of course we've got the hot dogs." The Mustangs kick off things on Thursday against the Chillicothe Mudcats. All games over the holiday begin at 7pm.<div><iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fstjoemustangs%2Fposts%2Fpfbid0vfXmb8aPfutw5FibuSVnV7UZFJGDSzWwDpukgp2jgASDzmNFAbViXo7fugNFJJral&show_text=true&width=500" width="500" height="730" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" allow="autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; picture-in-picture; web-share"></iframe></div>You can follow Matt on X @KfeqMatt.&nbsp; &nbsp;

Celebrate Fourth of July with the St. Joseph Mustangs 

The 2025 Class for the Northwest Missouri State University M-Club Hall of Fame has been announced with six individuals and two championship winning Bearcat football teams earning induction this fall. 

The Class of 2025's individual inductees include early age inductee Bob Gonsoulin (Baseball) along with modern age inductees Collin Bevins (Football), Brandy Haan (Track &amp; Field), Jake Vollstedt (Football), Kyle Zimmerman (Football) and Mark Clements (Athletics Administration).

The 2015 and 2016 Bearcat football teams captured NCAA Div. II national championships for head coach Adam Dorrel. Both squads put together perfect 15-0 seasons that included MIAA crowns and national titles.

The ages have been established to ensure a focus on candidates from throughout the history of Bearcat athletics. The modern age includes candidates from the last 30 years, while the early age includes candidates from 31-plus years and earlier.

The Class of 2025 will be inducted into the M-Club Hall of Fame during the annual festivities on Friday, Oct. 24 in the J.W. Jones Student Union Ballroom and will be recognized during the Homecoming football game on Saturday, Oct. 25, vs. Nebraska-Kearney. 

Tickets for the Friday evening banquet are $35 each and may be purchased by contacting Brenda Lutz by email (blutz@nwmissouri.edu) or phone 660-562-1977. Seating for the event is limited and the deadline to reserve your spot at the banquet is Oct. 1, or until tickets are sold out.

The 2025 class will bring the total of individual inductees to 182. The M-Club Hall of Fame was established for individuals in 1980, and teams were first enshrined beginning in 1989.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/7/1751390305774.jpeg" alt="The Northwest Missouri State M-Club Hall of Fame Class of 2025/ Photo courtesy of Northwest Missouri State Athletics" />
 <figcaption>The Northwest Missouri State M-Club Hall of Fame Class of 2025/ Photo courtesy of Northwest Missouri State Athletics</figcaption>
 </figure>By MATT PIKEThe 2025 Class for the Northwest Missouri State University M-Club Hall of Fame has been announced with six individuals and two championship winning Bearcat football teams earning induction this fall. The Class of 2025's individual inductees include early age inductee Bob Gonsoulin (Baseball) along with modern age inductees Collin Bevins (Football), Brandy Haan (Track &amp; Field), Jake Vollstedt (Football), Kyle Zimmerman (Football) and Mark Clements (Athletics Administration).The 2015 and 2016 Bearcat football teams captured NCAA Div. II national championships for head coach Adam Dorrel. Both squads put together perfect 15-0 seasons that included MIAA crowns and national titles.The ages have been established to ensure a focus on candidates from throughout the history of Bearcat athletics. The modern age includes candidates from the last 30 years, while the early age includes candidates from 31-plus years and earlier.The Class of 2025 will be inducted into the M-Club Hall of Fame during the annual festivities on Friday, Oct. 24 in the J.W. Jones Student Union Ballroom and will be recognized during the Homecoming football game on Saturday, Oct. 25, vs. Nebraska-Kearney. Tickets for the Friday evening banquet are $35 each and may be purchased by contacting Brenda Lutz by email (blutz@nwmissouri.edu) or phone 660-562-1977. Seating for the event is limited and the deadline to reserve your spot at the banquet is Oct. 1, or until tickets are sold out.The 2025 class will bring the total of individual inductees to 182. The M-Club Hall of Fame was established for individuals in 1980, and teams were first enshrined beginning in 1989.You can follow Matt on X @KfeqMatt.&nbsp; &nbsp;

2025 NWMSU M-Club Hall of Fame Class announced 

The Kansas City Royals offense again struggled to produce hits, and even get on base mustering just five total baserunners, falling to the Seattle Mariners in their series opener on Monday night 6-2 at T-Mobile Park, ending June with a record of 8-18 on the month.&nbsp;

The Royals opened the scoring in the top of the third inning with an RBI single by Bobby Witt Jr, driving in Kyle Isbel who singled earlier in the inning with two outs.&nbsp; Kansas City would not score again, or get another hit, until the eighth inning.&nbsp;

Seattle tied the game up in the fourth inning on a solo home run by Randy Arozarena.&nbsp; In the fifth inning, they took the lead with a four run frame, first getting a sacrifice fly by the American League leader in home runs Cal Raleigh, scoring Cole Young.&nbsp; Arozarena's second home run of the game drove in the other three runs, bringing home J.P Crawford and Julio Rodriguez.&nbsp;&nbsp;

In the seventh inning, Raleigh extended his home run lead hitting a solo home run for the final Mariners score, giving him 33 home runs on the season.&nbsp; The Royals scored their final run in the eighth inning on a force out by Witt Jr, with Jonathan India being thrown out at second, as John Rave scored.&nbsp;

Michael Wacha took the loss for the Royals, falling to 4-8 on the season, pitching five innings and giving up five runs on eight hits, striking out one and walking two.&nbsp; At the plate, Witt Jr was 1-for-4 with two RBI's.&nbsp; Isbel was 1-for-2 with the walk.&nbsp; India and Rave had the other two Kansas City hits.&nbsp;

Kansas City and Seattle continue their series tomorrow.&nbsp; Michael Lorenzen (4-8, 4.91 ERA) takes the mound for the Royals against&nbsp;Emerson Hancock (3-4, 5.30 ERA) for the Mariners.&nbsp; First pitch is at 8:40pm, pregame will begin at 8 on KFEQ (680AM/95.3FM).

By MATT PIKEThe Kansas City Royals offense again struggled to produce hits, and even get on base mustering just five total baserunners, falling to the Seattle Mariners in their series opener on Monday night 6-2 at T-Mobile Park, ending June with a record of 8-18 on the month.&nbsp;The Royals opened the scoring in the top of the third inning with an RBI single by Bobby Witt Jr, driving in Kyle Isbel who singled earlier in the inning with two outs.&nbsp; Kansas City would not score again, or get another hit, until the eighth inning.&nbsp;Seattle tied the game up in the fourth inning on a solo home run by Randy Arozarena.&nbsp; In the fifth inning, they took the lead with a four run frame, first getting a sacrifice fly by the American League leader in home runs Cal Raleigh, scoring Cole Young.&nbsp; Arozarena's second home run of the game drove in the other three runs, bringing home J.P Crawford and Julio Rodriguez.&nbsp;&nbsp;In the seventh inning, Raleigh extended his home run lead hitting a solo home run for the final Mariners score, giving him 33 home runs on the season.&nbsp; The Royals scored their final run in the eighth inning on a force out by Witt Jr, with Jonathan India being thrown out at second, as John Rave scored.&nbsp;Michael Wacha took the loss for the Royals, falling to 4-8 on the season, pitching five innings and giving up five runs on eight hits, striking out one and walking two.&nbsp; At the plate, Witt Jr was 1-for-4 with two RBI's.&nbsp; Isbel was 1-for-2 with the walk.&nbsp; India and Rave had the other two Kansas City hits.&nbsp;Kansas City and Seattle continue their series tomorrow.&nbsp; Michael Lorenzen (4-8, 4.91 ERA) takes the mound for the Royals against&nbsp;Emerson Hancock (3-4, 5.30 ERA) for the Mariners.&nbsp; First pitch is at 8:40pm, pregame will begin at 8 on KFEQ (680AM/95.3FM).You can follow Matt on X @KfeqMatt.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;

Royals offense falters again in road opener against Mariners falling 6-2

Cardinals starting pitcher Erick Fedde struggled on the mound again, giving up seven runs for a second consecutive outing, as the Pittsburgh Pirates shutout St. Louis 7-0 to open the series at PNC Park on Monday night.&nbsp;

Spencer Horwitz opened the scoring for the Pirates in the first inning on the second pitch from Fedde, hitting a solo home run to right center field for his second home run of the season, putting Pittsburgh up 1-0 early on the Redbirds.&nbsp;

Fedde held the Pirates to that lead until the fifth inning, when Pittsburgh drove in the final six runs of the game, starting with another two RBI's by Horwitz on a double that scored Joey Bart and Isiah Kiner-Falefa.&nbsp; Nick Gonzales doubled to drive in Horwitz, advancing Bryan Reynolds to third after he singled.&nbsp; Then, after Fedde intentionally walked Oneil Cruz to load the bases, a single by&nbsp;Ke'Bryan Hayes brought home Reynolds and Gonzales.&nbsp; Former Cardinal Tommy Pham drove in the final run with a single, scoring Cruz.&nbsp;

Fedde fell to 3-8 on the season, taking the loss, giving up all seven runs on 10 hits and pitching five innings, walking three and getting no strikeouts.&nbsp; The Cardinals managed just four hits on the day, and five baserunners overall getting just one walk, with Masyn Winn, Willson Contreras, and Victor Scott II all going 1-for-3.&nbsp;&nbsp;José Fermín had the only other hit in the game for the Redbirds.&nbsp;

St. Louis and Pittsburgh continue their series tomorrow.&nbsp; &nbsp;Andre Pallante (5-4, 4.43 ERA) takes the mound for the Cardinals against Paul Skenes (4-7, 2.12 ERA) for the Pirates.&nbsp; First pitch is at 5:40 pm, coverage will be joined near the start at 5:30 on KY 102 (102.5 FM).&nbsp;

By MATT PIKECardinals starting pitcher Erick Fedde struggled on the mound again, giving up seven runs for a second consecutive outing, as the Pittsburgh Pirates shutout St. Louis 7-0 to open the series at PNC Park on Monday night.&nbsp;Spencer Horwitz opened the scoring for the Pirates in the first inning on the second pitch from Fedde, hitting a solo home run to right center field for his second home run of the season, putting Pittsburgh up 1-0 early on the Redbirds.&nbsp;Fedde held the Pirates to that lead until the fifth inning, when Pittsburgh drove in the final six runs of the game, starting with another two RBI's by Horwitz on a double that scored Joey Bart and Isiah Kiner-Falefa.&nbsp; Nick Gonzales doubled to drive in Horwitz, advancing Bryan Reynolds to third after he singled.&nbsp; Then, after Fedde intentionally walked Oneil Cruz to load the bases, a single by&nbsp;Ke'Bryan Hayes brought home Reynolds and Gonzales.&nbsp; Former Cardinal Tommy Pham drove in the final run with a single, scoring Cruz.&nbsp;Fedde fell to 3-8 on the season, taking the loss, giving up all seven runs on 10 hits and pitching five innings, walking three and getting no strikeouts.&nbsp; The Cardinals managed just four hits on the day, and five baserunners overall getting just one walk, with Masyn Winn, Willson Contreras, and Victor Scott II all going 1-for-3.&nbsp;&nbsp;José Fermín had the only other hit in the game for the Redbirds.&nbsp;St. Louis and Pittsburgh continue their series tomorrow.&nbsp; &nbsp;Andre Pallante (5-4, 4.43 ERA) takes the mound for the Cardinals against Paul Skenes (4-7, 2.12 ERA) for the Pirates.&nbsp; First pitch is at 5:40 pm, coverage will be joined near the start at 5:30 on KY 102 (102.5 FM).&nbsp;You can follow Matt on X @KfeqMatt.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;

Fedde struggles again as Cardinals shutout 7-0 by Pirates in NL Central battle

Due to inclement weather expected in the area, the St. Joseph Mustangs announced their matchup with the Nevada Griffons scheduled for tonight has been postponed.&nbsp;

Most recently, the Mustangs wrapped up a four game home stand, winning 11-10 on Saturday at Phil Welch Stadium over the Sedalia Bombers.&nbsp; The Mustangs scored a massive comeback in the victory, after entering the bottom of the eighth inning trailing the Bombers 10-2.&nbsp;

The Mustangs scored seven runs in the seventh inning, with RBIs from Jack Mosh, Dom Felix, Justin George, Lafayette alum Jayden Little, and Benton alum Chris Coy.&nbsp; Felix tied the game up in the ninth on a groundout, driving in Tyler Gundelfinger, and in the 10th inning&nbsp;Easton Phillipe had a pinch hit walk off RBI double for the win.&nbsp;

The Mustangs are off on Monday.&nbsp; They are back in action on Tuesday on the road at the Chillicothe Mudcats.&nbsp; After an off day on Wednesday they will be back in St. Joseph for three days of fireworks extravaganza's starting on Thursday at Phil Welch Stadium against the Mudcats as well.

By MATT PIKEDue to inclement weather expected in the area, the St. Joseph Mustangs announced their matchup with the Nevada Griffons scheduled for tonight has been postponed.&nbsp;Most recently, the Mustangs wrapped up a four game home stand, winning 11-10 on Saturday at Phil Welch Stadium over the Sedalia Bombers.&nbsp; The Mustangs scored a massive comeback in the victory, after entering the bottom of the eighth inning trailing the Bombers 10-2.&nbsp;The Mustangs scored seven runs in the seventh inning, with RBIs from Jack Mosh, Dom Felix, Justin George, Lafayette alum Jayden Little, and Benton alum Chris Coy.&nbsp; Felix tied the game up in the ninth on a groundout, driving in Tyler Gundelfinger, and in the 10th inning&nbsp;Easton Phillipe had a pinch hit walk off RBI double for the win.&nbsp;The Mustangs are off on Monday.&nbsp; They are back in action on Tuesday on the road at the Chillicothe Mudcats.&nbsp; After an off day on Wednesday they will be back in St. Joseph for three days of fireworks extravaganza's starting on Thursday at Phil Welch Stadium against the Mudcats as well.You can follow Matt on X @KfeqMatt.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;

Mustangs matchup with Nevada postponed

The St Louis Cardinals allowed just three hits, and 11 baserunners total, as four pitchers combined to shutout the Cleveland Guardians 7-0, securing a series sweep for the Redbirds at Progressive Field going into a Monday off day.&nbsp;

The Cardinals jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first inning behind a big home run by Nolan Gorman.&nbsp; After Masyn Winn walked and Willson Contreras singled with one out, Nolan Arenado flew out to right field for the second out allowing Winn to advance to third base, before Gorman blasted the ball 428 feet to right center field for the St. Louis lead.&nbsp;

St. Louis did not score again until the seventh inning as Cleveland replaced starter Logan Allen with Hunter Gaddis.&nbsp;&nbsp;Pedro Pagés singled to open the inning, and after Garrett Hampson struck out, Victor Scott II extended the lead with his fourth home run of the season, a two run home run to right field pushing the Cardinals lead to 5-0.&nbsp;

The final two runs came in the very next inning, the first coming home on a sacrifice fly by&nbsp;Pagés, driving in&nbsp;José Fermín who singled to start the inning after pinch hitting for Arenado.&nbsp; Hampson singled to bring home Gorman who had walked earlier in the inning for the final run of the game.&nbsp;

Cardinals starter Matthew Liberatore earned the win, improving to 6-6 on the season, pitching six innings and giving up three hits while walking five and striking out five.&nbsp; At the plate, Scott II was 2-for-4 with the home run and two RBI's.&nbsp; Arenado was 2-for-3 while Winn was also 2-for-4 with a walk.&nbsp;

St. Louis travels to Pittsburgh on Monday.&nbsp; Erick Fedde (3-7, 4.11 ERA) takes the mound for the Cardinals against Andrew Heaney (3-7, 4.48 ERA) for the Pirates.&nbsp; First pitch is at 5:40pm, coverage will be joined near the start at 5:30 on KY 102 (102.5 FM).&nbsp;

You can follow Matt on X @KfeqMatt.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;

By MATT PIKEThe St Louis Cardinals allowed just three hits, and 11 baserunners total, as four pitchers combined to shutout the Cleveland Guardians 7-0, securing a series sweep for the Redbirds at Progressive Field going into a Monday off day.&nbsp;The Cardinals jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first inning behind a big home run by Nolan Gorman.&nbsp; After Masyn Winn walked and Willson Contreras singled with one out, Nolan Arenado flew out to right field for the second out allowing Winn to advance to third base, before Gorman blasted the ball 428 feet to right center field for the St. Louis lead.&nbsp;<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">NOLAN GORMAN, THAT BALL HAD A FAMILY! 🤯 <a href="https://t.co/96clyPpTXh">pic.twitter.com/96clyPpTXh</a>&mdash; St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) <a href="https://twitter.com/Cardinals/status/1939356591720947945?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 29, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>St. Louis did not score again until the seventh inning as Cleveland replaced starter Logan Allen with Hunter Gaddis.&nbsp;&nbsp;Pedro Pagés singled to open the inning, and after Garrett Hampson struck out, Victor Scott II extended the lead with his fourth home run of the season, a two run home run to right field pushing the Cardinals lead to 5-0.&nbsp;<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Two-run shot from VS2! 💥 <a href="https://t.co/PFn66lxQwe">pic.twitter.com/PFn66lxQwe</a>&mdash; St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) <a href="https://twitter.com/Cardinals/status/1939381543241441452?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 29, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>The final two runs came in the very next inning, the first coming home on a sacrifice fly by&nbsp;Pagés, driving in&nbsp;José Fermín who singled to start the inning after pinch hitting for Arenado.&nbsp; Hampson singled to bring home Gorman who had walked earlier in the inning for the final run of the game.&nbsp;Cardinals starter Matthew Liberatore earned the win, improving to 6-6 on the season, pitching six innings and giving up three hits while walking five and striking out five.&nbsp; At the plate, Scott II was 2-for-4 with the home run and two RBI's.&nbsp; Arenado was 2-for-3 while Winn was also 2-for-4 with a walk.&nbsp;St. Louis travels to Pittsburgh on Monday.&nbsp; Erick Fedde (3-7, 4.11 ERA) takes the mound for the Cardinals against Andrew Heaney (3-7, 4.48 ERA) for the Pirates.&nbsp; First pitch is at 5:40pm, coverage will be joined near the start at 5:30 on KY 102 (102.5 FM).&nbsp;You can follow Matt on X @KfeqMatt.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;

Cardinals hold Guardians to three hits in 7-0 win for series sweep

A day after seeing their offense come to life to back a strong start by Seth Lugo, the Kansas City Royals failed to see the same support behind Kris Bubic, falling 5-1 to the Los Angeles Dodgers in Sunday's series finale at Kauffman Stadium.&nbsp;

The Royals took the lead in the first inning, scoring their lone run on an RBI double by Bobby Witt Jr, driving in Jonathan India who led off the game with a single.&nbsp; But in the second inning, the Dodgers took the lead with a two run home run by&nbsp;Enrique Hernández, scoring Andy Pages who singled earlier in the inning.&nbsp;

A solo home run by Will Smith in the sixth inning extended the Dodgers lead, before Los Angeles added their final two runs in the seventh inning. Max Muncy doubled driving in Pages who led off the seventh with a double, before Muncy came home to score on a single by Miguel Rojas for the final run.&nbsp;

Bubic took the loss, falling to 6-6 on the year, pitching five innings and giving up two runs on three hits, striking out five and walking two.&nbsp; At the plate, Maikel Garcia was 2-for-4, while Witt Jr was 1-for-4 with the double and an RBI, striking out three times.

Kansas City now travels to Seattle on Monday.&nbsp; Michael Wacha (4-7, 3.33 ERA) takes the mound for the Royals against George Kirby (1-4, 5.40 ERA) for the Mariners.&nbsp; First pitch is at 8:40pm, pregame begins at 8 on KFEQ (680AM/95.3FM).

By MATT PIKEA day after seeing their offense come to life to back a strong start by Seth Lugo, the Kansas City Royals failed to see the same support behind Kris Bubic, falling 5-1 to the Los Angeles Dodgers in Sunday's series finale at Kauffman Stadium.&nbsp;The Royals took the lead in the first inning, scoring their lone run on an RBI double by Bobby Witt Jr, driving in Jonathan India who led off the game with a single.&nbsp; But in the second inning, the Dodgers took the lead with a two run home run by&nbsp;Enrique Hernández, scoring Andy Pages who singled earlier in the inning.&nbsp;A solo home run by Will Smith in the sixth inning extended the Dodgers lead, before Los Angeles added their final two runs in the seventh inning. Max Muncy doubled driving in Pages who led off the seventh with a double, before Muncy came home to score on a single by Miguel Rojas for the final run.&nbsp;Bubic took the loss, falling to 6-6 on the year, pitching five innings and giving up two runs on three hits, striking out five and walking two.&nbsp; At the plate, Maikel Garcia was 2-for-4, while Witt Jr was 1-for-4 with the double and an RBI, striking out three times.Kansas City now travels to Seattle on Monday.&nbsp; Michael Wacha (4-7, 3.33 ERA) takes the mound for the Royals against George Kirby (1-4, 5.40 ERA) for the Mariners.&nbsp; First pitch is at 8:40pm, pregame begins at 8 on KFEQ (680AM/95.3FM).You can follow Matt on X @KfeqMatt.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;

Royals offense struggles again in 5-1 series finale loss to Dodgers

The St. Louis Cardinals secured a series win on the road on Saturday afternoon, coming from behind after a big fourth inning from the Guardians, and beating Cleveland 9-6 at Progressive Field for the Redbirds largest comeback win of the season.&nbsp;

After Brendan Donovan led off the game with a solo home run for the Cardinals, St. Louis held the 1-0 lead until the fourth inning, when the Guardians scored six runs, first tying up the game with a solo home run of their own as Kyle Manzardo led off the inning with a blast to center field to knot up the game.&nbsp;

Continuing in the fourth inning, Cleveland took the lead on a groundout by&nbsp;Daniel Schneemann, scoring Carlos Santana who walked earlier in the inning.&nbsp; A Nolan Jones double extended the lead, driving in Lane Thomas who had also doubled in the inning, and after Jones stole third base he scored himself on a two run home run by&nbsp;Gabriel Arias.&nbsp; After Austin Hedges singled following the home run, a triple by Steven Kwan drove in Hedges for the final run of the inning, giving the Guardians a 6-1 lead.&nbsp;

In the fifth inning the Cardinals cut the Cleveland lead in half, scoring two runs on a single by Alec Burleson, driving in Donovan and Masyn Winn.&nbsp; Then in the sixth, St. Louis took the lead for good with a five run frame, first scoring with a single by Nolan Gorman bringing home Lars Nootbaar and later in the inning tying the game on a Victor Scott II double, driving in Nolan Arenado and Gorman.&nbsp;

A sacrifice fly by Donovan gave the Cardinals the lead, driving in Yohel Pozo before a groundout by Winn extended the lead more bringing in Scott to give St. Louis an 8-6 lead.&nbsp; The final run scored in the ninth inning for the Cardinals on a solo home run by Willson Contreras, his 11th home run of the season.&nbsp;

Matt Svanson took the win in relief for the Cardinals, his first win of the season going to 1-0, pitching one inning and striking out one.&nbsp; Ryan Helsley earned his 16th save, striking out one in the ninth.&nbsp; At the plate, Winn was 3-for-5 with an RBI.&nbsp; Contreras was 2-for-4 with the home run and a walk while Gorman was 2-for-5 with an RBI.&nbsp;&nbsp;

St. Louis will look for the sweep as they wrap up their series in Cleveland tomorrow.&nbsp; Matthew Liberatore (5-6, 3.96 ERA) takes the mound for the Cardinals against Logan Allen (5-5, 4.25 ERA) for the Guardians.&nbsp; First pitch is at 12:40pm and will be joined near the start at 12:30 on KY 102 (102.5 FM).

By MATT PIKEThe St. Louis Cardinals secured a series win on the road on Saturday afternoon, coming from behind after a big fourth inning from the Guardians, and beating Cleveland 9-6 at Progressive Field for the Redbirds largest comeback win of the season.&nbsp;After Brendan Donovan led off the game with a solo home run for the Cardinals, St. Louis held the 1-0 lead until the fourth inning, when the Guardians scored six runs, first tying up the game with a solo home run of their own as Kyle Manzardo led off the inning with a blast to center field to knot up the game.&nbsp;<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Donnie goes deep on the FIRST pitch of the game! <a href="https://t.co/D53NsaJIwr">pic.twitter.com/D53NsaJIwr</a>&mdash; St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) <a href="https://twitter.com/Cardinals/status/1939054902321520864?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 28, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>Continuing in the fourth inning, Cleveland took the lead on a groundout by&nbsp;Daniel Schneemann, scoring Carlos Santana who walked earlier in the inning.&nbsp; A Nolan Jones double extended the lead, driving in Lane Thomas who had also doubled in the inning, and after Jones stole third base he scored himself on a two run home run by&nbsp;Gabriel Arias.&nbsp; After Austin Hedges singled following the home run, a triple by Steven Kwan drove in Hedges for the final run of the inning, giving the Guardians a 6-1 lead.&nbsp;In the fifth inning the Cardinals cut the Cleveland lead in half, scoring two runs on a single by Alec Burleson, driving in Donovan and Masyn Winn.&nbsp; Then in the sixth, St. Louis took the lead for good with a five run frame, first scoring with a single by Nolan Gorman bringing home Lars Nootbaar and later in the inning tying the game on a Victor Scott II double, driving in Nolan Arenado and Gorman.&nbsp;<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Vic ties it up! <a href="https://t.co/h4W4Gt1ebB">pic.twitter.com/h4W4Gt1ebB</a>&mdash; St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) <a href="https://twitter.com/Cardinals/status/1939078993170571520?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 28, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>A sacrifice fly by Donovan gave the Cardinals the lead, driving in Yohel Pozo before a groundout by Winn extended the lead more bringing in Scott to give St. Louis an 8-6 lead.&nbsp; The final run scored in the ninth inning for the Cardinals on a solo home run by Willson Contreras, his 11th home run of the season.&nbsp;<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">5 consecutive hits leads to 5 runs! <a href="https://t.co/mcv4LR0E7Y">pic.twitter.com/mcv4LR0E7Y</a>&mdash; St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) <a href="https://twitter.com/Cardinals/status/1939081862678208562?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 28, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Willson CRUSHES one 430 feet! <a href="https://t.co/HAkMrrbQah">pic.twitter.com/HAkMrrbQah</a>&mdash; St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) <a href="https://twitter.com/Cardinals/status/1939092510141489602?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 28, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>Matt Svanson took the win in relief for the Cardinals, his first win of the season going to 1-0, pitching one inning and striking out one.&nbsp; Ryan Helsley earned his 16th save, striking out one in the ninth.&nbsp; At the plate, Winn was 3-for-5 with an RBI.&nbsp; Contreras was 2-for-4 with the home run and a walk while Gorman was 2-for-5 with an RBI.&nbsp;&nbsp;St. Louis will look for the sweep as they wrap up their series in Cleveland tomorrow.&nbsp; Matthew Liberatore (5-6, 3.96 ERA) takes the mound for the Cardinals against Logan Allen (5-5, 4.25 ERA) for the Guardians.&nbsp; First pitch is at 12:40pm and will be joined near the start at 12:30 on KY 102 (102.5 FM).You can follow Matt on X @KfeqMatt.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;

Cardinals secure series win with comeback 9-6 win over Guardians

The Kansas City Royals offense came to life on Saturday afternoon at Kauffman Stadium, snapping a six game losing streak, and an 11 game losing streak at their home stadium, beating the Los Angeles Dodgers 9-5.&nbsp;

The Royals jumped out to a lead in the third inning after three straight hits by Jonathan India, Bobby Witt Jr, and Maikel Garcia.&nbsp; India singled and back to back doubles by Witt Jr and Garcia brought in both India and Witt Jr to score, putting Kansas City up 2-0.&nbsp;&nbsp;

In the fifth inning the Royals added four more runs, first extending the lead with an RBI single by India, driving in Kyle Isbel who singled.&nbsp; Later in the inning, Vinnie Pasquantino hit his 12th home run of the season, a three run blast to center field, scoring India and Witt Jr to push Kansas City ahead of the Dodgers 6-0.

Los Angeles got on the board in the seventh inning on a solo home run by Freddie Freeman.&nbsp; In the bottom half of the inning, the Royals continued adding to their lead with three more runs, first with Witt Jr and India scoring once again on a double by Pasquantino, before Pasquantino came home on a double by Salvador Perez giving Kansas City an 9-1 lead.

Royals reliever Sam Long ran into some trouble in the ninth inning, but held onto the lead despite giving up four runs. A single by Max Muncy scored&nbsp;Hyeseong Kim who led off the inning with a single.&nbsp;&nbsp;Enrique Hernández drove in two more runs, bringing home Tommy Edman and Freeman, with another single before&nbsp;Andy Pages brought home Muncy to score the final run with an RBI single.&nbsp;

Seth Lugo earned the win for Kansas City, pitching 5 2/3 shutout innings giving up four hits and striking out eight, while walking five batters.&nbsp; It was a good day at the plate for Witt Jr and India who were both 4-for-5 with three runs scored, India driving in one run as well.&nbsp; Pasquantino was 2-for-4 with five RBI's.

With the series split, Kansas City and Los Angeles wrap things up tomorrow.&nbsp; Kris Bubic (6-5, 2.18 ERA) takes the mound for the Royals while the Dodgers pitcher is currently listed as TBD.&nbsp; First pitch is at 1:10pm, with pregame beginning at 12:30 on KFEQ (680AM/95.3FM).&nbsp;

By MATT PIKEThe Kansas City Royals offense came to life on Saturday afternoon at Kauffman Stadium, snapping a six game losing streak, and an 11 game losing streak at their home stadium, beating the Los Angeles Dodgers 9-5.&nbsp;The Royals jumped out to a lead in the third inning after three straight hits by Jonathan India, Bobby Witt Jr, and Maikel Garcia.&nbsp; India singled and back to back doubles by Witt Jr and Garcia brought in both India and Witt Jr to score, putting Kansas City up 2-0.&nbsp;&nbsp;In the fifth inning the Royals added four more runs, first extending the lead with an RBI single by India, driving in Kyle Isbel who singled.&nbsp; Later in the inning, Vinnie Pasquantino hit his 12th home run of the season, a three run blast to center field, scoring India and Witt Jr to push Kansas City ahead of the Dodgers 6-0.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Smashquantino.<a href="https://twitter.com/STIHLUSA?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@STIHLUSA</a> <a href="https://t.co/ryQgBvrb4G">pic.twitter.com/ryQgBvrb4G</a>&mdash; Kansas City Royals (@Royals) <a href="https://twitter.com/Royals/status/1939075821299249556?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 28, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>Los Angeles got on the board in the seventh inning on a solo home run by Freddie Freeman.&nbsp; In the bottom half of the inning, the Royals continued adding to their lead with three more runs, first with Witt Jr and India scoring once again on a double by Pasquantino, before Pasquantino came home on a double by Salvador Perez giving Kansas City an 9-1 lead.Royals reliever Sam Long ran into some trouble in the ninth inning, but held onto the lead despite giving up four runs. A single by Max Muncy scored&nbsp;Hyeseong Kim who led off the inning with a single.&nbsp;&nbsp;Enrique Hernández drove in two more runs, bringing home Tommy Edman and Freeman, with another single before&nbsp;Andy Pages brought home Muncy to score the final run with an RBI single.&nbsp;Seth Lugo earned the win for Kansas City, pitching 5 2/3 shutout innings giving up four hits and striking out eight, while walking five batters.&nbsp; It was a good day at the plate for Witt Jr and India who were both 4-for-5 with three runs scored, India driving in one run as well.&nbsp; Pasquantino was 2-for-4 with five RBI's.With the series split, Kansas City and Los Angeles wrap things up tomorrow.&nbsp; Kris Bubic (6-5, 2.18 ERA) takes the mound for the Royals while the Dodgers pitcher is currently listed as TBD.&nbsp; First pitch is at 1:10pm, with pregame beginning at 12:30 on KFEQ (680AM/95.3FM).&nbsp;You can follow Matt on X @KfeqMatt.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;

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