Associated PressKANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Austin Gomber tossed six innings of four-hit ball in a crucial spot start and St. Louis capitalized on some erratic pitching from Brady Singer, beating the Kansas City Royals 5-0 on Tuesday night.The Cardinals, who trail the Chicago Cubs by 3 1/2 games in the NL Central, improved to 27-25 by evening their series with their cross-state rivals. They also built the slightest of cushion in the race for the No. 2 spot in the division after Milwaukee (28-28) eked out a win over Cincinnati (27-27) earlier in the evening.Gomber (1-1), who dealt with biceps tendinitis throughout last season, earned his first win since beating Atlanta on Sept. 18, 2018. He struck out three without a walk while blanking an opponent for the 11th time in 13 appearances.Dylan Carlson had two RBI while finishing a homer shy of the cycle. Brad Miller, Tommy Edman and Kolten Wong also drove in runs as the Cardinals, who are playing a brutal finishing stretch after an early outbreak of COVID-19 ransacked their schedule, took another weary step toward their second straight postseason appearance.Singer, who carried a 14-inning scoreless streak into the game, had trouble finding the plate all night. He walked two in the first inning, then walked the first two batters of the second, when Carlson's double brought them home. Wong made it 3-0 later in the inning.Singer (3-5) wound up walking five in three-plus innings, throwing just 44 of 81 pitches for strikes.That led to an ugly ending to the 50th birthday of Royals manager Mike Matheny, who took umbrage with what he thought was the squeezing of his young pitcher by plate umpire Manny Gonzalez. Matheny expressed his displeasure while making a pitching change in the fourth inning and was immediately tossed from the game.With no fans in the ballpark, Matheny's rising voice could be heard all the way into the upper deck.NEGRO LEAGUES SALUTEThe Cardinals wore the gray road uniforms of the 1930 St. Louis Stars and the Royals donned the home cream uniforms of the 1945 Kansas City Monarchs to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Negro Leagues.The Stars featured such players as "Cool Papa" Bell, John "Mule" Suttles and Willie Wells while Jackie Robinson played for the Monarchs before breaking baseball's color barrier by signing with the Brooklyn Dodgers for the 1947 season.CARDINALS MOVESRight-hander Dakota Hudson, who left his start last week against Pittsburgh with elbow soreness, was shut down for the season when the Cardinals transferred him to the 45-day injured list. The original diagnosis was a "flexor tendon issue," Cardinals president John Mozeliak said, but Hudson will see team medical director Dr. George A. Paletta Jr. soon."Our doctors have reviewed the MRI but you still want to do the normal consultation," Mozeliak said, when asked whether surgery could be needed. "Until that happens, no decision has been made on next steps."The Cardinals activated reliever Kodi Whitley, who had been dealing with elbow soreness after a bout with COVID-19, and sent pitcher Junior Fernandez to their alternate training site in corresponding roster moves.UP NEXTCardinals RHP Carlos Martinez (0-1, 2.37 ERA) tries to rebound from a rough outing in Pittsburgh, when he allowed five runs but just one earned over 3 2/3 innings, when he faces Royals LHP Danny Duffy (3-4, 5.01 ERA) on Wednesday night.--- Associated Press ---

Royals get blanked by Cardinals Tuesday 5-0