The Kansas City Royals are set to face the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium. The first pitch is scheduled for 8:15 p.m. ET and Fox Sports Kansas City will be showing this interleague matchup.
Kansas City Royals vs. St. Louis Cardinals Odds
Kansas City (+180) is entering this game as the underdog against St. Louis (-190) and Vegas has set the Over/Under for this night game at 8.5 runs (+100 for the over and -120 for the under). Bettors can also wager on the game’s spread with the runline odds coming in at Royals +1.5 runs (-125) and Cardinals +-1.5 runs (+105).
The Royals are just 14-33 SU and are 20-26 against the spread (ATS). They’ve lost 14.3 units for moneyline bettors in the season’s early going and 10.0 units ATS. Kansas City is 3-4 ATS over its last seven games and the total has gone over in four of those seven. The Cardinals, on the other hand, are 26-19 SU and 21-23 ATS. They’ve gained 1.4 units for moneyline bettors while earning 2.8 units ATS. St. Louis has a 3-4 ATS record over its last seven games and the total has gone under in four of those seven.
Cardinals games have an 18-23-3 over/under record so far in 2018. The Royals have been a decent under bet with a total record of 19-25-2.
The right-handed Jason Hammel is the projected starter for the visiting Royals. Hammel is 0-5 with a 6.28 ERA and 27 strikeouts. He has yet to face the Cardinals this year and only made one start against them in 2017 (0-0, 3.60 ERA and seven strikeouts across five innings).
The Cardinals will send righty Luke Weaver (3-3, 4.37 ERA) to the mound. Weaver has 42 strikeouts and 17 walks to his credit, as well as a 1.27 WHIP. Weaver did not record a start against the Royals in 2017.
As a unit, St. Louis’ pitching staff has given up 3.8 runs per game overall in 2018. The club’s starters have an ERA of 2.96, a WHIP of 1.20 and a strikeouts-per-nine of 8.1. The bullpen has a 4.10 ERA, 1.38 WHIP and 8.3 K/9.
St. Louis’ hitters have produced 4.5 runs per outing, including 5.2 per game over its last 10 games and 6.2 per game over their last five. The team has a slash-line of .306/.359/.488 over its last five games and is 3-2 SU during that stretch.
The Cardinals’ batters have been led by outfielder Tommy Pham and first baseman Jose Martinez. Pham is slashing .303/.409/.517 with eight home runs, 19 RBIs, 35 runs and eight stolen bases, and Martinez’s line is .311/.380/.476 with five homers, 30 RBIs and 18 runs.
Pham seemed to have a little trouble hitting righty pitching at home last season, slashing .257/.377/.355 over 183 such plate appearances (compared to his overall season line of .306/.411/.520).
For the visiting squad, Kansas City’s pitching staff allowed 5.8 runs per game and its starters own a 5.64 ERA, 1.45 WHIP and 7.14 K/9. The bullpen has managed an ERA of 5.45, along with a K/9 of 6.74.
The Royals offense has slashed .254/.321/.382 on its way to 3.9 runs scored per game in 2018, including 3.2 runs per game over the team’s last 10 games and 2.4 per game over the team’s last five contests (1-4 SU).
Kansas City’s offense has been led by outfielder Jorge Soler and third baseman Mike Moustakas, who collectively have belted 15 home runs. Soler is hitting .289/.392/.474 with five home runs, 20 RBIs and 20 runs scored, while Moustakas is hitting .295/.337/.525 with 10 homers, 31 RBIs and 27 runs scored.
Compared to his overall season slash line of .144/.245/.258, Soler seemed to take a step back when hitting right-handed pitchers on the road in 2017, putting up a slash line of .103/.235/.138 across 34 such plate appearances.
The Royals have lost 17.1 units and are 9-19 ATS when facing a righty starter this season. The over has hit in 12 of those games, compared to 14 that’ve gone under in such games. On the other hand, the Cardinals have lost 2.0 units and are 13-19 ATS when facing a right-handed starting pitcher. The over’s hit in 13 of those games, as opposed to 16 which went under the total.
Kansas City Royals at St. Louis Cardinals MLB Tip
Predictions: SU Winner – Cardinals, ATS Winner – Royals, O/U – OVER
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Notes
Betting Notes
The Royals have lost eight of their last nine games SU.
The Kansas City defense has allowed two errors over the last 10 games, compared to seven errors for St. Louis over its last 10.
The Royals have hit three home runs in their last 10 games. The Cardinals have hit 14 over their last 10.
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