Guthrie recounts missed pitches in loss to Cardinals

ST. LOUIS -- Neither manager Ned Yost nor Royals right-hander Jeremy Guthrie could come up with a definitive analysis of how Guthrie pitched Saturday in the Royals' 3-2 loss to the Cardinals.

Guthrie certainly wasn't on top of his game -- he gave up 10 hits in five innings. But he also battled through several jams and kept the Royals close.

"He was OK," Yost said with a little hesitation. "He gave up that game-winning homer to [Mark] Reynolds on a curveball that was up. But other than that, he was OK, I thought."

Guthrie, too, struggled to describe his outing.

"It doesn't matter what I think," he said. "We lost. So, I could have pitcher better."

Would he like any pitches back?

"Yeah, all of them that went for hits," he said. "All 10 of them.

"But really, the tough inning was the third inning when they strung together all those hits. I made some good pitches in good spots, but just couldn't get the third out."

The Cardinals got hits from five of their first six hitters in the third inning and scraped together two runs to take a 2-1 lead.

After the Royals tied it 2-2, Guthrie surrendered a home run to Reynolds in the fifth on a towering fly that may have been aided by the wind.

"That pitch I wanted down and away," Guthrie said. "He hit my mistake. But for the most part I hit my spots. That was one I didn't."