KANSAS CITY • Having already won the first two series on this nine-game, three-city swing, the Cardinals face arguably the most vulnerable opponent on the trip and can field, for the first time in a while, inarguably their best offensive lineup.
Jose Martinez scores the first start at DH as the Cardinals start a weekend, interleague series against their cross-state rivals, the Kansas City Royals. The access to an American League-style lineup affords the Cardinals to do things that the NL handcuffs — get Martinez at-bats without putting him in the field and planting a hitter ahead of Matt Carpenter who is not a pitcher.