Worth noting

• A day after the Cardinals' loss ended on a call at the plate, manager Mike Matheny expressed no consternation over the split-second ruling by home-plate umpire Alan Porter. In fact, Matheny, who maintains that replays appear inconclusive to him, said it was the call he would expect.

"You have to look at it from multiple angles, and we're watching it slow," Matheny said. "You can't expect anything better than what he's seeing in real life. I know as a catcher, I see he has the plate blocked. If there is contact made and he comes up with the ball, you're out. That's been baseball forever. He did a nice job blocking the plate. If he hit his leg like he did and they called him safe, even though he tagged him high, Ned [Royals manager Yost] is going to go ballistic and so would I."

Tyler Greene was thrown out trying to advance to home after a pair of errant throws by Royals infielders allowed him to move from first to third. Had he scored, the run would have tied the game.

• Center fielder Jon Jay hit off soft toss for the second straight day on Saturday. The plan is to have him take some batting practice swings in the indoor cage on Sunday. That would be a first for Jay since he went on the disabled list with a right shoulder sprain on May 16.

• After sitting until a ninth-inning pinch-hit appearance on Friday, Rafael Furcal returned to the lineup on Saturday. Matheny said he is considering giving Furcal another off-day on Sunday. Catcher Yadier Molina is also likely to be out of the lineup in the series finale.

• The Cardinals still expect Skip Schumaker (right hamstring strain) to rejoin the team in Detroit, where the club opens a three-game series on Tuesday. Matt Carpenter (right oblique strain) is also on target to join the club on the road, though likely a few days after Schumaker. Both players are currently taking part in rehab assignments with Triple-A Memphis.