Beltran, Lyons lead Cardinals past Royals, 4-1

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) - Carlos Beltran hit a two-run homer against his former team, rookie Tyler Lyons made another dazzling start and the St. Louis Cardinals beat Kansas City 4-1 on Tuesday night for the Royals' 10th consecutive home defeat.

The only two hits that Lyons allowed over seven innings were to Billy Butler - a two-out RBI double in the first inning and a bloop single in the seventh.

Otherwise, the left-hander shut down an anemic Kansas City offense to improve to 2-0 in his week-old major league career.

Trevor Rosenthal pitched the eighth inning in a driving rain for St. Louis, and Edward Mujica breezed through a perfect ninth for his 16th save of the season.

Matt Carpenter and Matt Holliday added solo homers in the sixth off the Royals' Ervin Santana (3-5) as the Cardinals (34-17) improved to a major league-best 20-9 on the road.