KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Royals manager Ned Yost admitted that he often manages an entire game around getting the ball to reliever Wade Davis in the eighth inning and closer Greg Holland in the ninth. The fact that Yordano Ventura gave him six solid innings made things even easier. Ventura returned from a sore elbow to keep the St. Louis Cardinals off balance, and Kansas City rallied for three runs in the sixth inning before the bullpen closed out a 3-2 win Thursday night that ended a string of eight straight home losses to its cross-state rivals. "The bullpen was fantastic tonight," Yost said. Of course, so was Ventura. The hard-throwing right-hander was skipped his previous time through the rotation because of the ailment, but looked sharp in his return. Ventura (3-5) pitched to contact and took advantage of some sharp defence, which helped him to limit the damage whenever he ran into trouble. "Everything was good," Ventura said through a translator. "I wasnt nervous. I was very anxious. I wanted to pitch well to help the team win." He wasnt in line for the win until the Royals rallied for three runs off Michael Wacha (4-4) in the sixth inning, and Francisley Bueno and Davis each pitched a perfect inning in relief. Holland made things interesting in the ninth. Oscar Taveras led off with a grounder toward second base that Omar Infante fielded deep in the hole and threw awkwardly to first base. Umpire Dan Iassogna initially ruled the throw beat Taveras to the bag, but a video review showed that he was clearly safe. Holland proceeded to strike out Jhonny Peralta, but a wild pitch sent pinch runner Randal Grichuk to second base. Holland then struck out Jon Jay and Peter Bourjos to end the game. The Royals took the first two games of the four-game, two-city series at Busch Stadium, and then lost 5-2 in 11 innings on Wednesday night before taking the series finale. Kansas City improved to 6-2 against National League clubs this season, while its slumping cross-state rivals lost for the seventh time in their past eight games. The game was expected to be a showdown between two of the games bright young pitchers in Ventura, with his 100 mph fastball, and Wacha, who emerged for St. Louis last season. Neither of them disappointed. Ventura left two runners aboard in the first inning and a runner on third base in each of the next three innings. Alex Gordon then helped him out of the fifth, when he threw out Yadier Molina trying to stretch a single into a double with a strong throw from left field. The call was confirmed after a review that lasted 3 minutes, 30 seconds. Wacha only allowed two hits through the first five innings before Alcides Escobar started the Royals rally with a double in the sixth. Nori Aoki followed with an RBI double and Eric Hosmer guided a single through a drawn-in infield to knot the game 2-all. Salvador Perez, who had been in a 2-for-24 slump at home, followed with a go-ahead single. "Wacha was real good up the point of the sixth inning and thats consecutive starts where weve had starters come out and be real good and just hit a wall," Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said. "We just werent able to get enough offence back after that." The fact that Aoki had a part in the Royals sixth-inning rally was perhaps fitting. The outfielder was leading off in the first inning when he took a pitch low and inside. He was still leaning slightly over the plate when Molina tried to return the ball to Wacha, and the throw instead ricocheted hard off Aokis helmet and toward the third-base dugout. Aoki crumpled into a heap and lay in the dirt for several minutes before resuming his at-bat. He later grounded out, but hurt the Cardinals with his double during the Royals decisive rally. "Yadi was real apologetic," Yost said. "Nori was just like, OK, OK." NOTES: Cardinals 2B Kolten Wong left in the fifth inning with soreness in his left shoulder, which he hurt diving for a ball Tuesday night in St. Louis. Daniel Descalso replaced him. ... Royals RHP Jeremy Guthrie starts a four-game series against the Yankees on Friday night. Cardinals RHP Lance Lynn will start for St. Louis to open its three-game set in Toronto. Matthew Stafford Youth Jersey . Maximilian Arnold put Wolfsburg ahead in the eighth minute, when the stationary Fallou Diagne allowed him to guide Patrick Ochs cross beyond the helpless Freiburg goalkeeper, and Ivica Olic doubled the lead three minutes later after Luiz Gustavo did well to set him up. Will Harris Youth Jersey . Ibrahimovic put PSG ahead when he got in front of his marker to neatly flick in Lucass cross in the 59th minute. New signing Yohan Cabaye came on as a second-half substitute and headed Ezequiel Lavezzis cross against the post in the 87th. 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Maclin and the Philadelphia Eagles agreed on a one-year contract, preventing the wide receiver from becoming a free agent next month. Maclin missed the entire 2013 season after tearing his right ACL in training camp. "Im excited to play in Chips offence, Im excited to be able to help this team get to the next level," Maclin said after the deal was announced Friday. "This is a place I can showcase my skills. Im comfortable with my teammates and this is the right spot for me." Maclin said the team offered him a five-year contract, but the two sides couldnt agree on terms. "This is the place I wanted to be," he said. "This is where I was most interested in what was going on. By them offering me a long-term deal, that made me comfortable that I was in their long-term plans." The former first-round pick led the team with 69 receptions for 857 yards and seven touchdowns in 2012. Hes one of eight receivers to in NFL history to have at least 55 catches and 750 yards in each of his first foour seasons in the league.dddddddddddd "Im excited to see Jeremy play in our offence," Kelly said. "You saw the potential of that in the spring and summer but obviously he didnt get an opportunity last year. However, what was great to see was how he was literally here every single day since being injured. You can see he has a passion for the game of football. When he was on the field last spring and summer, you saw his intelligence, you saw his great route-running ability and you saw how tough of a one-on-one match-up he could be." The NFC East champion Eagles had a busy week before signing Maclin on Friday. They gave new deals to wide receiver Riley Cooper and centre Jason Kelce on Thursday and extended All-Pro left tackle Jason Peters contract Wednesday. "Jeremy is an ideal player for our scheme with his combination of size, speed, strength and route-running ability, in addition to his dynamic playmaking talent," general manager Howie Roseman said. "Were happy to see him rehabbing well and to get him under contract for the 2014 season." ' ' '