Walker's solo homer proves to be all Cards, Mikolas need in KC

KANSAS CITY -- When he stepped into the batter’s box in the sixth inning on Saturday night, Jordan Walker was on a 23-game homerless streak, the second-longest of his career.

Then, suddenly and dramatically, that power outage ended and the Cardinals were on their way to another victory. Walker hit a solo drive over the wall in left-center field, and St. Louis held on for a 1-0 victory over the Royals at Kauffman Stadium.

In a game played in 1 hour, 49 minutes, Cardinals right-hander Miles Mikolas and Royals rookie left-hander Noah Cameron battled on even terms until Walker unloaded for his first homer since April 13 against Philadelphia.

The Cardinals, who won for the 12th time in 13 games, needed pitching and defense to survive on a night when the offense couldn’t get anything going, other than Walker’s homer.

Mikolas worked six scoreless innings and was aided by a great catch from center fielder Victor Scott II in the fourth. Second baseman Brendan Donovan made two outstanding plays in the eighth to bail reliever Kyle Leahy out of a two-on, nobody-out predicament.

Pitching, defense and one big swing. It was Cardinals baseball the way manager Oliver Marmol loves to see it.

“If that style of baseball doesn’t get you going, I don’t know what does,” Marmol said. “A lot of positives there.”

Walker had been working with hitting coach Brant Brown on relaxing his hands, and the adjustment paid a quick dividend.

“I was getting too stiff, and you have to keep them loose,” Walker said.

The Cardinals didn’t have much of a book on Cameron, who was making his second Major League start. The rookie was called up to start on Saturday due to veteran Seth Lugo’s finger injury.

The Cardinals had just one hit through five innings. Then Walker started the sixth with his Statcast-projected 422-foot home run.

“He hits his spots,” Walker said of Cameron. “More of the old-school pitching. Hard and then soft, and he knows how to locate. I just wanted to sit back and drive something.”

Mikolas needed just 76 pitches to get the game to the high-leverage guys at the back of the bullpen.

“Miles threw a really nice six innings,” Marmol said. “He was on attack and got some chase, too.”

With Mikolas getting through six, Marmol wanted Leahy for two innings and Ryan Helsley for one to finish off the shutout. It worked out that way but only because of some stellar Cardinals defense in the eighth and ninth innings.

With two on and nobody out in the bottom of the eighth, Donovan smartly short-hopped a low liner hit by Jonathan India. Donovan started a 4-6-5 double play and then followed with a diving stop on Bobby Witt Jr.’s smash up the middle and flipped to Masyn Winn for a forceout.

“I can’t say enough about what the guys behind me did,” Leahy said.

There was more up-the-middle defensive heroics in the ninth, when Winn showed his range and arm to pick up a wicked grounder hit by Vinnie Pasquantino and get the out at first.

The Cardinals are now 7-1 on their three-city road trip and will try to finish it in style on Sunday.

“It really feels nice,” Walker said. “Everybody is excited. The energy we are playing with as a squad is really special.”