In-state opponents run into each other Tuesday night when the St. Louis Cardinals make the trip to see the Kansas City Royals for the third of the two teams’ season series. The Redbirds have won the initial two meetings by one run each.
Kansas City (7-14) has lost four in a row and nine of 11 — including a 1-0 defeat at the hands of St. Louis Monday. The Royals are tied with Detroit for the worst start in the American League Central.
Winners of four of their previous six, the Cardinals have been Kansas City’s only interleague competition to this point. St. Louis (13-9) sits in second place in the National League Central.
First baseman Paul Goldschmidt, third baseman Nolan Arenado, and catcher Yadier Molina have performed well with their bats over the last seven days. Everyone in that trio hit .316 or better during that span.
Arenado’s .359 total batting average is good enough for the fifth-highest in the league. His 1.111 on-base plus slugging ranks second. He also paces his team in hits (28), RBIs (18), and long balls (6).
Royals at Cardinals Odds
The Cardinals are favored to continue their upward trend in this one. St. Louis is -1.5 on the run line at +164, while the Royals are -200 to cover the spread.
On the moneyline, the Cardinals are -112 and Kansas City -104. The total has been set at seven runs, with the over being -122 and the under +100 at the time of this writing.
When you consider Kansas City’s offensive woes at the dish, their underdog status comes as no surprise. They rank 27th in all the majors with a combined .212 average, which helps explain these MLB odds. Their .283 on-base percentage isn’t much better and their 57 RBIs are the lowest of any team.
Shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. and outfielders Andrew Benintendi and Edward Olivares have been bright spots for the Royals over the past week.
More will look to strengthen their statistics gainst the Cardinals’ Dakota Hudson. Against righties, Kansas City has four hitters who have gone .281 or better at the dish, including third baseman Hunter Dozier.
Benintendi has driven in 10 runs and Salvador Perez has lifted five home runs.
Matchup Information
Royals at Cardinals Betting Preview
On the bump for the Royals, fifth-year right-hander Brad Keller has posted a 0-2 record thus far. In his last time out, at the Chicago White Sox, he went seven innings and gave up a mere three hits on the way to his team’s 5-2 win in extras.
It was the second time in 2022 that Keller pitched that many frames and allowed only three knocks, as he did so against Detroit on April 15.
He’s spent 24.2 innings on the mound so far in this campaign and his 0.77 WHIP is up there with the best in the big leagues.
St. Louis’ Hudson would likely be happy to replicate his previous performance. Against the Arizona Diamondbacks last week, he let none across and conceded a single knock in an 8-3 triumph.
In his last 12.2 innings of work, he’s allowed only three hits. Hudson has a career 3.11 ERA in 73 appearances.
Royals at Cardinals Picks and Predictions
Records aside, these crews appear to match up well together. That being said, if Hudson can shut down the Royals’ bats and the Cardinals’ usual suspects swing well, this could be one of the most interesting MLB picks today.
The same could go for Keller and Kansas City’s offense, which has only a few major players at this point. Place your trust in the team that is set up to compete for their division rather than the one who’s falling out of the race already.
St. Louis will take its third in a row against the Royals as Arenado and company figure Keller out. Expect a solid showing from the Cardinals.
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