The cities of St. Louis and Kansas City are only about 245 miles apart but the cities’ baseball franchises are light years apart currently as the Cardinals are battling for the NL Central lead and the Royals are one of the majors’ worst teams. They meet Tuesday night to open an interleague series and the Cards are heavy MLB Betting favorites.
How to Bet Cardinals vs Royals MLB Spread & Game Info
- When: Tuesday, 8:15 PM ET
- Where: Kauffman Stadium
- Probable pitchers (away/home): Jack Flaherty/Glenn Sparkman
- TV: MLB Extra Innings
- Live Stream: MLB.tv
- Radio: SiriusXM
- MLB Spread: St. Louis Cardinals -1.5 (Total 9.5)
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Weather Forecast
- Sunny: 31°C/87°F
- Humidity: 43%
- Precipitation: 0%
- Cloud Cover: 6%
- Wind: 8 mph N
- Stadium Type: Open
Why Bet on St. Louis?
The Cardinals have activated catcher Yadier Molina from the 10-day injured list. Molina will return to action for the Cardinals on Tuesday night’s series opener at Kansas City after missing a full month with a lingering right thumb sprain. Matt Wieters played very well in his absence, so Yadi could see more days off down the stretch than he’s used to. Andrew Knizner has been optioned to Triple-A Memphis.
Meanwhile, the team has put outfielder Jose Martinez on the injured list and recalled outfielder Randy Arozarena from Triple-A. Arozarena has lit it up to the tune of a .349/.435/.547 batting line with 10 home runs and 16 stolen bases in 80 games this season between Double-A and Triple-A. The 24-year-old from Cuba could get regular playing time in the Cardinals’ outfield while Martinez recovers.
It’s Jack Flaherty (5-6) on the mound. Flaherty didn’t factor into the decision in Wednesday’s 2-1 loss to the Dodgers, giving up four hits and a walk over seven scoreless innings while striking out 10. The right-hander was brilliant, tying his season-high in strikeouts while extending his scoreless streak to 16 innings, and Flaherty exited the game in line for his sixth win of the year before Carlos Martinez ruined the combined shutout bid in the ninth inning.
Flaherty will carry a 3.72 ERA and 150:40 K:BB through 128.1 innings into this outing. He has been on a dominant stretch since the All-Star break. In his last six starts, he has a 0.94 ERA. Flaherty has made one career appearances vs. KC last season (8/11/18) tossing 7.0 innings allowing two runs (A. Escobar 2-Run HR) on three hits in an 8-3 Cardinals win, his 2nd win on a streak of a career-high four-game win streak. He is 0-1 with a 6.33 ERA in four starts in Interleague games this season and 1-2 with a 5.23 ERA in eight career Interleague starts.
Team Stats
Offense- Runs: 4.41
- Hits: 8.16
- Walks: 3.17
- Strike Outs: 8.63
- Runs: 4.29
- Hits: 8.08
- Walks: 3.41
- Strike Outs: 8.65
Why Bet on Kansas City?
Rather quietly, Jorge Soler is having a breakout season. Soler went 3-for-3 with two home runs and five RBI as the Royals trounced the Tigers 10-2 on Sunday. Soler crushed a Derek Norris delivery to left-center field in the third inning for a two-run blast, and he showed off his impressive strength in the eighth when he reached out and lifted a Drew VerHagen breaking ball over the wall in left. He then capped his big day with a two-run double in the ninth. The 27-year-old is hitting .259/.343/.558 with 35 homers, 87 RBI and 68 runs scored on the year. He trails only Mike Trout in home runs among American League hitters.
Soler is the eighth Royal in franchise history to attain 33 home runs, matching Jermaine Dye’s total from 2000. Next on the team list is the trio of John Mayberry, Danny Tartabull and Dean Palmer, who each hit 34 in a season for KC. His projected totals of 45 homers and 112 RBI would break the franchise record for homers and also be the most RBI by a Royal since 2000, when Mike Sweeney (144) and Dye (118), enjoyed career years.
It’s Glenn Sparkman on the hill. Sparkman (3-7) struck out five in 4.1 innings while giving up four runs on seven hits and three walks Wednesday against the Red Sox before the contest was suspended in the top of the 10th inning with the score tied at 4-4. Sparkman was on the hook for the loss before the Royals rallied for the tying run in the top of the seventh. The two sides are scheduled to complete the suspended game Aug. 22, so the statistics Sparkman accrued won’t be applied to his season-long line until that time.
Sparkman has made one Interleague start in his career, coming July 6 at Washington, allowing four runs on nine hits over 6.0 innings, with two walks and three strikeouts. The righty is 3-2 with a 2.70 ERA (12 ER in 40.0 IP) over six home starts this season, including his first career shutout July 16 vs. the White Sox (5 H, 1 BB, 8 K).
Team Stats
Offense- Runs: 4.33
- Hits: 8.34
- Walks: 2.86
- Strike Outs: 8.48
- Runs: 5.24
- Hits: 9.32
- Walks: 3.56
- Strike Outs: 7.71
Cardinals vs Royals MLB Betting Trends
- Cardinals are 5-1 in Flaherty’s last 6 starts with 5 days of rest
- Royals are 2-12 in their last 14 interleague home games
- Cardinals are 6-0 SU in their last 6 games when playing on the road against Kansas City
- The total has gone UNDER in 10 of St. Louis’ last 12 games this season
- Royals are 1-6 SU in their last 7 games at home
- The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Kansas City’s last 5 games against an opponent in the National League
Expert Final Score Prediction for Cardinals vs Royals
St. Louis Cardinals 5 – Kansas City Royals 2
