It is interleague action on Memorial Day as the Kansas City Royals and St. Louis Cardinals face off. It's time to continue our MLB odds series with a Royals-Cardinals prediction, pick, and how-to-watch.
Edward Olivares hit a home run that damaged the scoreboard as MJ Melendez add a solo shot as well resulting in a tie game going into the bottom of the ninth. With two outs in the bottom of the ninth, Michael Massey drove in the game-winning run to avoid the sweep at the hands of the Nationals. The Royals are in last place in the AL Central at 16-38 on the year. They have won just four of their last fifteen games, struggling on offense in the process.
The Cardinals are in fourth in the NL Central this year with a 24-31 record on the season. They just dropped two of three while visiting the Cleveland Guardians, and have been on a streak of winning one game, and then losing the next. In each of their last eight games, they have alternated wins as losses in that time. They are hoping to get back on the winning side this afternoon, coming off a ninth-inning loss to the Guardians yesterday.
Here are the Royals-Cardinals MLB odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
MLB Odds: Royals-Cardinals Odds
Kansas City Royals: +1.5 (-110)
St. Louis Cardinals: -1.5 (-110)
Over: 10 (-105)
Under: 10 (-115)
How To Watch Royals vs. Cardinals
TV: BSKC/BSMW
Stream: MLB.TV
Time: 2:15 PM ET/ 11:15 AM PT
*Watch MLB games LIVE with fuboTV (click for a free trial)*
Why The Royals Could Cover The Spread
The Royals need to figure out how to score. They are 26th in the majors this year, scoring just 213 runs this year. At the same time, they are 25th in the league in batting average while sitting dead last in the majors in on-base percentage. This team is led by Salvador Perez. Yesterday's game was the first in five games that he has not driven in a run. He has 32 RBIs on the season which is tied for 33rd in the majors. He has 19 of them this month, hitting .299 on the month. Hitting hot over the last week is Michael Massey. The second baseman is hitting .375 over his last six games, with two RBIs. He also has a .444 OBP in those games. This month has seen Massey his .308, with ten runs driven in.
The Royals will be hoping for continued production from Vinnie Pasquantino. While hitting only .227 on the month, he does much better against right-handed pitching. He is hitting .257 against righties this year, with eight home runs and 18 RBIs. Pasquantino has just one RBI in his last five games but will be looking to get a few today.
Starting today for the Royals will be Josh Staumont. Staumont has yet to make a start this year and is a primary reliever. It is most likely he will be used as an opener in the game today. He has pitched well so far this year. This year he has pitched 17 innings with nine earned runs. He has been striking out a lot of batters, striking out 21 in those 17 innings of work. He struggled in a game against the Nationals giving up four runs in an inning, but the next time out, he went .2 innings with just one hit given up.
Why The Cardinals Could Cover The Spread
The Cardinals can hit bombs. They are fifth in the majors with 76 home runs this year, while also hitting .257. That batting average has them sitting at 11th in the majors, while their on-base percentage is seventh in the majors. Nolan Gorman is the leader of the team with 13 home runs this year. Gorman is hitting .299 on the month with seven home runs and 18 RBIs. He is hitting better against right-handed pitching this year. He is hitting .285 with righties this year while also hitting 11 home runs and 36 RBIs.
Also hitting bombs against right-handed pitching is Paul Goldschmidt. Goldschmidt is hitting .288 against right-handed pitching this year with nine home runs and 20 RBIs. He has hit six home runs this month with 12 RBIs and an OBP of .395. On the year, he has an OPS of .925 which ranks 11th in the majors, and a batting average that is 20th in the majors. In the last week, he is hitting .304 with a 1.147 OPS. Also hitting strong is Brendan Donovan. Donovan is hitting .316 in his last seven games, with an OBP of .500.
Making his fifth start of the year will be Adam Wainwright. Wainwright is 2-0 with a 6.33 ERA on the season. He has struggled this year, not yet completing six full innings of work in a game. He has given up four home runs in each of them as well, although in one of the games it was just two earned runs with three unearned. The Cardinals are 3-1 when Wainwright starts, with the only loss coming in a ten-inning loss for the Cardinals.
Final Royals-Cardinals Prediction & Pick
The Royals are the second-worst team in baseball this year. They are 8-17 on the road this year and overall have a -76 run differential. That is also the second worst in the majors. The Cardinals are 11-15 at home but have a positive run differential overall. Still, this is a matchup of two of the worst teams in baseball. The Cardinals are playing much better than the Royals as of late. Still, with Wainwright on the mound, there is no telling how this will play out. The best play is to take the over in this one.
Final Royals-Cardinals Prediction & Pick: Over 10 (-105)
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