Cards lose challenge, then benefit from umps' look

KANSAS CITY -- Cardinals manager Mike Matheny lost a fifth-inning challenge in St. Louis' 3-2 loss to Kansas City on Thursday, when umpires ruled the play would stand after a review.

Umpire CB Bucknor's initial call was that Yadier Molina was out at second base while trying for a double.

With two outs and nobody on, Molina smacked a grounder inside the bag at third. Royals left fielder Alex Gordon retrieved the ball near the line and fired to second as Molina tried to stretch his hit. Bucknor called him out, prompting the challenge by Matheny that led to a review of three minutes and 30 seconds, the Royals' longest this season, before the play was ruled to stand.

Royals starter Yordano Ventura got out of the inning after the ruling, with the Cardinals holding a 2-0 lead.

There was also an umpires review in the ninth inning, when St. Louis' Oscar Taveras was initially ruled out at first after hitting a grounder up the middle. Matheny was only able to argue after having lost his challenge in the first replay review. The umpires, however, made the call to convene and review the play and, after a one-minute, 11-second look, the call was overturned and Taveras was ruled safe at first.

The Cardinals then proceeded to strike out in three consecutive at-bats against Royals closer Greg Holland to end the game.