Comeback Cards: Holliday's HR ends 7-game skid, beats Royals

ST. LOUIS (AP) � Matt Holliday hit a go-ahead two-run homer in the eighth inning that helped the St. Louis Cardinals snap a season-high seven-game skid with a 5-4 win over the Kansas City Royals on Saturday.

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  By Jeff Curry, Getty Images

  Matt Holliday salutes the St. Louis crowd fans after hitting a game-winning two-run home run against the Royals at Busch Stadium Saturday. The Cardinals ended a seven-game losing streak with a 5-4 win over the Royals.

By Jeff Curry, Getty Images

Matt Holliday salutes the St. Louis crowd fans after hitting a game-winning two-run home run against the Royals at Busch Stadium Saturday. The Cardinals ended a seven-game losing streak with a 5-4 win over the Royals.

Holliday drilled an 0-1 pitch from reliever Greg Holland and is 5-for-9 with two homers and four RBI since coming back from a quadriceps injury June 16.

Kansas City, which won the first game of the series, has lost three of four.

Jason Motte (3-1) earned the win in relief. Closer Fernando Salas converted his 12th save in 13 chances.

Holland (1-1) gave up his first home run of the season.

Alex Gordon gave Kansas City a 4-3 lead with a solo homer in the seventh off St. Louis starter Jake Westbook, who gave up four runs in seven innings.

St. Louis took a 3-2 lead in the third on a run-scoring double by Albert Pujols, who has 52 RBI against Kansas City.

Matt Treanor then tied the game 3-all with a solo homer in the fourth.

Kansas City starter Vin Mazzaro allowed seven hits and three runs over six innings. Melky Cabrera robbed Lance Berkman of a home run with a leaping catch over the wall in the sixth inning.

The Cardinals improved to 5-23 when trailing after seven innings.

NOTES: Westbrook batted in the No. 8 spot in the order, the third time this season that manager Tony La Russa has hit the pitcher eighth. St. Louis pitchers hit eighth 77 times last season. ? Westbrook reached a three-ball count on nine of the first 20 hitters. ? St. Louis OF Colby Rasmus broke out of an 0-for-14 skid with a single in the eighth. ? The two teams wore Joplin High baseball caps during batting practice in tribute to the southwest Missouri school, which was destroyed by a tornado on May 22. The clubs are wearing, "Teams Unite For Joplin," patches on their uniforms during the three-game series. ? Miss Missouri, Sydney Friar, threw out the first pitch. ?

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