St. Louis Cardinals vs Kansas City Royals Betting Pick & Prediction 8/9/24
The forecast from Kansas City on Friday calls for cloudy skies and temperatures in the mid-70s. First pitch from Kauffman Stadium is set for 8:10 PM ET. St. Louis is 59-57 and in 2nd place in the NL Central, while the Royals are 3rd in the AL Central with a record of 64-52.
The money line odds have the Cardinals at -101 compared to the Royals at -117, and the over/under line is at 9 runs. Michael Lorenzen is starting for the Royals, and he is facing off against Miles Mikolas for the Cardinals. BSKC is carrying this one on TV.
KANSAS CITY ROYALS VS ST. LOUIS CARDINALS BETTING PICK
The Pick: Kansas City Royals Moneyline -117
This game will be played at Kauffman Stadium at 8:10 ET on Friday, August 9th.
HOW TO BET THE CARDINALS VS ROYALS:
- We have the Royals winning by a score of 6 to 5
- If you’re looking for a run line pick, we also like the Royals to cover
- As for an over/under pick, we have this game finishing with 11 runs and like the over
Cardinals Records & Stats
The Cardinals will be looking to get back on track after closing out their series vs. the Rays with a 6-4 loss. This was especially tough, as they held a lead going into the 7th inning before the Rays scored three runs in the top of the 7th. St. Louis was the -124 favorite at home going into the game.
Kyle Gibson put together a good start for the Cardinals, going six innings and giving up just two earned runs, and striking out six. However, the Cardinals couldnjson’t close things out, and JoJo Romero took the loss out of the bullpen. The Cardinals also wasted a big game from Nolan Arenado, who went 3/3 with a run scored and a RBI.
St. Louis heads into today’s game vs. the Royals seven games behind the Brewers for the NL Central lead. The Cardinals are 59-57 overall and have gone 17-19 in divisional games. St. Louis’ series win vs. the Rays was just what they needed after dropping two straight series vs. the Braves and Twins.
The Cardinals have been pretty average on the road, coming in with a record of 28-30. At home, they are 31-27 this season. So far, they have been the favorite in 60 games, going 31-29 in those contests. As for their games as the underdog, they are 28-28. St. Louis’ overall series record is 19-16-3, and they have gone 5-5 in their last 10 games.
When it comes to betting the run line on the Cardinals, it’s been a bit of a mixed bag. Overall, they are just two games under .500 at 57-59. They have been a bit better on the road, going 29-29, compared to 28-30 at home. They have been a better bet as the underdog, going 37-19, compared to 20-40 as the favorite.
Today’s game between the St. Louis Cardinals and Kansas City Royals has an over/under line of 9 runs, which is slightly higher than the teams’ combined run average of 8.7 runs per game this season. The Cardinals have played 113 games this season, and only 6.9% of those games have had an over/under line set at 9 runs or higher. Their over/under record for the season is 56-57, and when the line has been set at 9 runs, their record is 8-9-1.
Right-hander Miles Mikolas is looking to bounce back from a rough outing, as he gets the start for the Cardinals on the road vs. the Royals. In his most recent outing, Mikolas took the loss after giving up four earned runs in four innings of work vs. the Cubs. Looking back over his last four starts, he has allowed at least two homers in three of them. Mikolas’ ERA for the season is 5.12, along with a record of 8-9. Opponents are batting .278 off Mikolas this season. So far, he has made 23 starts, 13 of which were quality starts.
Heading into today’s game, the Cardinals are averaging 4.1 runs per game, which is 24th in the league. They have been a bit better at home, averaging 4.3 runs per game. As a team, they are batting .246, which is 10th in the league, and their team on-base percentage of .309 is 17th. St. Louis has been led by Alec Burleson, who is batting .274 for the season and has a league-leading 66 RBIs.
Over his last six games, Masyn Winn is 6/23 with a home run and five runs scored. For the season, he is batting .281 and is 5th on the team with nine homers. Nolan Arenado is also swinging a hot bat, going 10/23 in his last six games. This has pushed his season average up to .229.
Royals Records & Stats
Bobby Witt Jr. had a big game at the plate in the Royals’ 8-4 win over the Red Sox to close out their series. He went 3/4 with two homers and four RBIs. The Royals really broke things open with a five-run 4th inning. Looking at the betting lines going into the game, the Royals were the slight favorite at -141 at home.
Cole Ragans started for the Athletics, going 6 1/3 innings and giving up just one run on six hits. He only had two strikeouts in the outing and got the win.
Kansas City will open their series vs. the Cardinals four games behind the Guardians for the AL Central lead. The Royals are 64-52 overall and have gone 25-11 against other teams in the division. They have dropped two straight games, as they lost the final two games of their series with the Red Sox. Over the last 10 games, the Royals are 7-3.
This year, the Royals have been good at home, going 37-24. On the road, they are just above .500 at 27-28. As the favorite, the Royals are 37-22 this year, and they are 27-30 as the underdog. So far, they have won two straight series on the road, and they are 17-19-1 in series overall.
The Royals have been a solid bet this season, going 65-51 against the run line. They have been especially good as the underdog, going 35-22. Their average run differential is +0.8 runs per game, and they have been even better at home, where their run differential is +1.0 runs per game.
The Kansas City Royals have played in 113 games this season, and their games have averaged 8.7 runs per contest. Their over/under record is 51-62, and when the line is set at 9 runs, they have gone 11-11. This season, 67.2% of their games have had over/under lines set lower than 9 runs. They have hit the over in three straight games.
Michael Lorenzen gets the start for the Royals today and will be looking to build off his last outing, where he gave up just one earned run in 5 2/3 innings of work. In that outing vs. the Tigers, he gave up five hits, issued two walks, and didn’t allow a home run. Overall, Lorenzen has made 19 starts, and his ERA for the season is 3.69. Lorenzen’s record for the season is 5-6, and he has a WHIP of 1.28. Looking back at his last three outings, Lorenzen has finished with a no-decision in each of his last three trips to the mound.
So far this season, the Royals are averaging 4.8 runs per game, which is 10th in the league. At home, they have been even better, averaging 5.2 runs per contest. As a team, they are batting .253, which is the 7th best mark in the MLB right now. The Royals have been one of the best teams in terms of avoiding strikeouts and are 2nd in the league in this category.
The Royals have three players with at least 17 home runs, and two of them, Bobby Witt Jr. and Salvador Perez, are in the top two spots in terms of RBIs. Witt Jr. is also hitting a team-best .349, and Perez is right behind him at .280. Witt Jr. and Perez are also on good streaks right now, as Witt Jr. has a four-game hitting streak, and Perez has gone deep in three straight games. Vinnie Pasquantino has also been hot of late, going 14/39 with six homers over his last nine games.