The St. Louis Cardinals will play host to their cross-state rival Kansas City Royals at Busch Stadium. Fox Sports Kansas City will be airing this interleague showdown and the action gets going at 1:15 p.m. ET.
Kansas City Royals vs. St. Louis Cardinals Odds
St. Louis (-185) is hosting this game as the favorite over Kansas City (+175) and oddsmakers have set the Over/Under for this afternoon’s game at 8.5 runs. The odds for wagering on the game’s total sit at -120 for the under and +100 for the over. The game’s most recent runline odds stand at -125 for taking the Royals +1.5 runs and +105 for the Cardinals -1.5.
The Cardinals are 26-20 SU and 22-23 ATS. The team’s gained 2.4 units for bettors taking the moneyline while gaining 1.8 units against the spread (ATS). St. Louis has covered the spread four times in its last seven games and the total has gone under in four of those seven. The Royals have gone 15-33 SU this year and are 20-27 ATS. Overall, the team’s lost 15.3 units for moneyline bettors through the early portions of the year and 11.2 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 18-24-3 so far in 2018. Royals games have gone under 26 times, gone over 19 times and pushed on two instances.
Jakob Junis is getting the start for the Royals. The right-handed Junis is 5-3 with a 3.51 ERA and 48 strikeouts. He has yet to face the Cardinals this year and did not record a start against them in 2017, either.
The Cardinals are preparing to start righty Michael Wacha (5-1, 3.08 ERA), who’s got 44 strikeouts and 21 walks, as well as a WHIP of 1.31. Wacha only made one start against the Royals in 2017 (1-0, 4.50 ERA and five strikeouts across six innings).
As a unit, St. Louis’ pitchers have given up 3.8 runs per game overall in 2018. Its starting pitching staff has an ERA of 2.98, a WHIP of 1.19 and a strikeouts-per-nine of 8.2. The bullpen has a 4.16 ERA, 1.40 WHIP and 8.3 K/9.
St. Louis’ hitters have produced 4.4 runs per contest, including 4.4 per game over its last 10 games and 6.0 per game over their last five. The team has hit .314/.356/.491 over its last five contests and is 3-2 SU during that stretch.
The Cardinals’ offense has been led by first baseman Jose Martinez and left fielder Marcell Ozuna. Martinez is hitting .311/.382/.473 with five home runs, 30 RBIs and 19 runs scored, and Ozuna is batting .253 with three homers, 22 RBIs and 17 runs scored.
Martinez saw a decline in production against right-handed pitchers last year, slashing .282/.346/.427 over 237 plate appearances (compared to his total season line of .309/.379/.518).
For the visiting squad, Kansas City’s pitching staff allowed 5.7 runs per game and its starting pitchers own a 5.53 ERA, 1.44 WHIP and 7.16 K/9. The bullpen has an ERA of 5.38, along with a WHIP of 1.44.
Royals hitters have slashed .255/.322/.385 on their way to 3.9 runs scored per game this year, including 2.7 runs per game over the team’s last 10 games and 2.8 per game over the team’s last five outings (2-3 SU).
Third baseman Mike Moustakas and outfielder Jon Jay have led Kansas City’s hitters. Moustakas is slashing .289/.333/.513 with 10 home runs, 31 RBIs and 27 runs scored, while Jay (.293/.351/.342) has produced zero homers, 12 RBIs and 18 runs scored.
The Royals have lost 18.1 units and are 9-20 ATS when facing a right-handed starting pitcher this season. The over has cashed in 12 of those games, compared to 15 that’ve gone under against righties. On the other hand, the Cardinals have lost 1.1 units and are 14-19 ATS when facing a right-handed starting pitcher. The over’s hit in 13 of those games, compared to 17 which went under the total.
Kansas City Royals vs. St. Louis Cardinals Free Prediction
Predictions: SU Winner – Cardinals, ATS Winner – Royals, O/U – OVER
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Notes
Betting Notes
The Royals have hit four home runs in their last 10 games, including three over their last five.
The Kansas City defense has allowed two errors over the last 10 games, compared to seven errors for St. Louis over its last 10.
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