The Kansas City Royals will head a few hours east to face off against the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium. This interleague matchup will get underway at 8:15 p.m. ET and Fox Sports Kansas City is in line to broadcast the game.
Kansas City Royals vs. St. Louis Cardinals Odds
Oddsmakers have listed Kansas City (+185) as the underdog to St. Louis (-200). The total sits at 8.5 runs and bettors can wager on the over for -120 and the under for +100. The games current runline odds stand at -120 for taking the Royals +1.5 runs and +100 for the Cardinals -1.5.
The Cardinals are 25-19 SU and 20-23 ATS. They’ve gained 0.3 units for bettors taking the moneyline while gaining 3.8 units against the spread (ATS). St. Louis has covered the spread only twice in its last seven games and the total has gone under in four of those seven. The Royals have gone 14-32 SU this year and are 20-25 ATS. In total, the teams lost 13.3 units for moneyline bettors over the early portions of the year and 8.9 units ATS. Kansas City is 3-4 ATS over its last seven games and the under has cashed in four of those seven.
Cardinals games have an over/under record of 18-22-3 so far in 2018. Kansas City has been a decent under bet with a total record of 18-25-2.
The right-handed Ian Kennedy is the probable starter for the visiting Royals. Kennedy is 1-4 with a 4.98 ERA and 45 strikeouts. He has yet to face the Cardinals this year and only made one start against them in 2017 (0-1, 9.00 ERA and five strikeouts over six innings).
The Cardinals are sending righty Miles Mikolas (5-0, 2.63 ERA) to the mound. Mikolas has 37 strikeouts and five walks to his credit, as well as a WHIP of 1.05. Mikolas did not pitch in the majors in 2017.
St. Louis pitchers have given up 3.8 runs per game overall in 2018 as a unit. Its starters have a 3.07 ERA, 1.22 WHIP and 8.1 strikeouts per nine innings. The bullpen has a 4.10 ERA, 1.38 WHIP and 8.3 K/9.
The St. Louis offense has put up 4.5 runs per outing, including 4.8 per game over its last 10 games and 6.4 per game over its last five. The team has hit .314/.381/.486 over its last five games and is 3-2 SU during that span.
Right fielder Tommy Pham and first baseman Jose Martinez have paced the Cardinals hitters so far. Pham is slashing .312/.419/.532 with eight home runs, 19 RBIs, 35 runs and eight stolen bases, and Martinez’s line is .313/.383/.481 with five homers, 30 RBIs and 17 runs.
Pham didn’t do very well against righty pitching at home in 2017. Across 183 such plate appearances, he slashed .257/.377/.355 (his overall season line was .306/.411/.520).
In the other dugout, Kansas City’s pitching staff allowed 5.8 runs per game and its starters own a 5.59 ERA, 1.44 WHIP and 7.13 K/9. The bullpen has an ERA of 5.47, along with a K/9 of 6.54.
The Royals offense has slashed .256/.323/.387 on its way to 4.0 runs scored per game in 2018, including 3.8 runs per game over the teams last 10 games and 3.4 per game over the teams last five outings (1-4 SU).
Kansas City’s offense has been led by right fielder Jorge Soler and third baseman Mike Moustakas, who have combined to swat 15 home runs. Soler is slashing .297/.401/.486 with five home runs, 20 RBIs and 20 runs scored, while Moustakas is hitting .294/.333/.528 with 10 homers, 31 RBIs and 27 runs scored.
Compared to his total season slash line of .144/.245/.258, Soler did not seem to enjoy hitting against righty pitching on the road in 2017, putting up a slash line of .103/.235/.138 across 34 such plate appearances.
The Royals have lost 16.1 units and are 9-18 ATS when facing a righty starter this season. The over has hit in 11 of those games, compared to 14 that’ve gone under in such games. On the other hand, the Cardinals have lost 3.1 units and are 12-19 ATS when facing a righty starter. The over has cashed in 13 of those games, compared to 15 that went under the total.
Kansas City Royals at St. Louis Cardinals Prediction
Predictions: SU Winner – Cardinals, ATS Winner – Royals, O/U – OVER
Betting Trends
- The Royals have lost seven of their last eight games SU.
- Kansas City fielders have committed zero errors over their last five games, compared to three errors for St. Louis over its last five.
- The Royals have hit four home runs in their last 10 games. The Cardinals have hit 13 over their last 10.
