The St. Louis Cardinals (24-32, 11-16 home) try to even the series against their interleague rival the Kansas City Royals (17-38, 9-17 away) in the final game of a quick two-game set. Kansas City blanked St. Louis, filtering with a perfect game through seven innings.
Tuesday’s first pitch is at 7:45 p.m. EST inside Busch Stadium in downtown St. Louis, Missouri. St. Louis is the betting favorite (-190 moneyline) and the over/under total is nine runs.
What to Know – Kansas City Royals
Kansas City has the second-worst record in baseball but that didn’t stop the Royals from winning their second game in a row and thumping the Cardinals on their home turf. Kansas City finds itself in the cellar of the AL Central and 11.5 games behind the leading Minnesota Twins.
The Royals turn the ball over to veteran right-hander Zack Greinke (1-5, 4.55 ERA, 1.19 WHIP). The 39-year-old hopes to pick up his second win of the season and cap a solid month of May. Greinke has toed the rubber 11 times, compiling 57.1 innings, 60 hits, eight walks, and 41 strike outs.
As a team, Kansas City ranks 25th in the MLB batting .230 as a team while scoring 3.9 runs per game. The Royals pitching staff is second-to-last in the league with a 5.20 team earned run average.
Salvador Perez has bounced back to his 2021 All-Star form after a down season last year to lead the Royals in home runs (12) and RBIs (32). The centerpiece of the Royals franchise, Bobby Witt Jr., is second on the team with ten home runs and 26 RBIs.
What to Know – St. Louis Cardinals
St. Louis looks to cap a month of May where the Cardinals were hot early but have cooled off since pulling with six games of .500. The Cardinals are in last place in the NL Central, 5.5 games back of the first place Milwaukee Brewers.
Righty Miles Mikolas (3-1, 4.23 ERA, 1.39 WHIP) is the expected starter for the Cardinals. Mikolas has won two of his last three starts and has a 2.40 ERA in five May starts. On the season, Mikolas has 61.2 innings under his belt, surrendering 29 earned runs on 72 hits and 14 walks while striking out 48 batters.
Offensively, St. Louis is 11th in the majors hitting .257 collectively and averaging 4.9 runs per contest. The pitching staff for the Cardinals ranks 17th in the majors sporting a 4.32 team ERA.
The bulk of the run production takes place at the top of the Cardinals lineup. Nolan Gorman, Paul Goldschmidt, and Nolan Arenado have combined for 32 home runs and 101 runs batted in.
The Pick is In
St. Louis has been a major disappointment this season, with many projected the Cardinals to be a contender in the National League. The Cardinals are much better than the Royals, and St. Louis will bounce back on Tuesday night with a comfortable victory.
The Pick: St. Louis Cardinals -1.5
