ST. LOUIS -- Tyler Lyons had not won a game in the major leagues in more than two years; and, as the fly ball off the bat of Kendrys Morales headed toward right field in the eighth inning Saturday, he wondered whether that streak was going to go on even longer.

Lyons had left the game after a rain delay going into the sixth inning and was watching on television in the St. Louis Cardinals' clubhouse, knowing the Cardinals had to get the final five outs if he was going to earn a 3-2 win over the Kansas City Royals.

The Royals had the tying run on first, and Lyons knew Jason Heyward had to catch Morales' fly for him to have a chance to end a streak that had seen him go 0-8 in 13 starts across the last three seasons. He last won in his second career start, on May 28, 2013, against the Royals.

What made it such a hard play was that the ball had disappeared into the late-afternoon sun, almost blinding Heyward, who threw up his glove as he was falling backward. Somehow, the ball found his mitt, and Lyons and the Cardinals won.

"That was very impressive to see, especially when they showed the replay," Lyons said. "You know what the sun is like at that time and you knew how hard it was (to make the catch). If he doesn't hold on there, there's people running right there. It was definitely big for me."

Heyward, who has won two Gold Gloves in the last three years, also knew how important the play was going to be, but he also felt hopeless and admitted he and Lyons got lucky.

"I saw it off the bat and that was the last time I saw it until I went to throw it in," Heyward said. "That one found me, and thank God it did. If it didn't, they probably would have scored a run. I felt it hit my glove and I was surprised."

"That was a lucky catch," Royals manager Ned Yost said. "I mean, there's some skill involved with that; but, if you watch the replay, he wasn't even looking -- the sun was in his eyes and the ball found his glove."

Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said, "That's the game. That was a game-changing play. There would have been an absolute mess going on right there, and he somehow stuck with it."

Lyons, who was recalled from Triple-A Memphis on Friday to take the place of the injured Lance Lynn in the rotation, allowed just three hits. Two were solo homers, from Alex Gordon in the second and Salvador Perez in the fourth. He struck out six and walked one in earning his third career victory.

Lyons said he was not concerned about how long it had been since his last win. He had made three starts earlier this season, all no-decisions, in his first call-up from Memphis when Adam Wainwright was injured.

"I don't think about it," he said. "I just try to go out there and pitch each time and whatever happens happens. It's a good feeling to get a win. Any time you get one, you take it, for sure."

A solo homer by Mark Reynolds, his fourth homer of the year, snapped a 2-2 tie and allowed Lyons to get the win, which came after five relievers combined to preserve the one-run lead over the final four innings. Trevor Rosenthal got the final four outs to record his league-leading 21st save.

The win moved the Cardinals (41-21) 20 games over .500 -- the earliest the Cardinals have reached 41 wins in a season since 1944. They also improved to 24-7 at home, despite now having five members of their 25-man Opening Day roster on the disabled list and two others recently return.

"I'm just real proud of the fact they (the players) are not getting distracted," Matheny said. "That's a story and it's being fed to them from everybody on the outside, even some of their closest friends. It's a lie, to be honest with you. As long as they don't buy into it and look at the lineup and say we've got plenty to win today, then what we are doing is going to be enough. As soon as they back off of that, we're going to be in trouble."
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