KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Yordano Ventura threw six innings in his return from a sore elbow, and the Kansas City Royals rallied to beat the St. Louis Cardinals 3-2 Thursday night and end a string of eight straight home losses to their in-state rivals. Ventura was skipped his previous time through the rotation because of minor elbow pain, but he looked sharp in his return. He pitched to contact and took advantage of some sharp defense, which helped him to limit the damage whenever he ran into trouble.

The Royals rallied for three runs off Michael Wacha to take the lead in the sixth inning, and Francisley Bueno and Wade Davis each pitched a perfect inning in relief of Ventura.

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KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina drilled Royals leadoff hitter Nori Aoki in the helmet in the first inning Thursday night while trying to throw the ball back to his pitcher. Aoki had just taken a pitch inside and was bent a bit over the plate when Molina wound up and fired the ball back to Cardinals starter Michael Wacha. The ball traveled about two feet before it ricocheted off Aoki’s helmet and toward the third base dugout.

Aoki dropped to the dirt in a heap in the batter’s box and Molina immediately bent over to see whether he was OK. Royals manager Ned Yost and several other personnel also ran out from the dugout to check on Aoki, who eventually stood up and resumed his at-bat. He grounded out moments later.