Cardinals pitcher Michael Wacha tossed his fifth quality start in a row Thursday against the Royals, but it wasn't enough in a 3-2 loss.
Wacha allowed all three runs in a fateful sixth inning, and that ended up costing the Cardinals the game as the offense stalled out after scoring two early runs. He was charged with three runs on seven hits and a walk, while striking out just one on 95 pitches in the loss.
Wacha fell to 4-4 in the tough-luck loss, but still has a sparkling 2.61 ERA. He ranked ninth in the National League in ERA and seventh in WHIP (1.08) heading into his next start, set for Wednesday in Tampa.