Royals on Fire
The St. Louis Cardinals might have been surprised after being swept at home last week by the lowly Kansas City Royals. Now they know it wasn’t just them.
The Royals look to win six straight games for the first time this season, and beat their intrastate rivals for the fourth time in a row when the teams meet at Kauffman Stadium on Friday.
Oddsmakers from Sportsbook.com have made Kansas City -118 money line favorites (MLB Odds) for tonight’s game, the over/under has been set at 8.5 total runs (Matchup). Current public betting information shows that 73% of bets for this game have been placed on St. Louis +108 (View MLB Bet Percentages).
St. Louis hadn’t been swept all season and the Royals hadn’t swept the Cardinals (45-35) since 2001, but Kansas City allowed four total runs in three victories at Busch Stadium last week.
The Royals (36-43) didn’t stop there, and have won five in a row after taking two of three from San Francisco and sweeping Colorado. Kansas City has won 10 of its last 11 overall and is 12-3 in interleague play after going 24-40 against AL opponents.
"That’s a step, no doubt," Royals manager Trey Hillman said. "Sometimes, you’d like to take large giant steps, but we dug ourselves such a big hole that we’re going to have to get back in it with baby steps."
The latest came by way of a 4-2 win over the Rockies on Wednesday, as Luke Hochevar tossed eight innings in yet another strong performance by a Royals pitcher. Kansas City gave up nine runs in the three-game set and has allowed three runs or fewer in nine of the last 12 games.
We’re Sending 100 Players To |
Bet on the 2008 Baseball Season And Play Our $40,000 MLB |
Bet on All The UEFA Matches From Anywhere in The World |
Gil Meche (5-8, 4.91 ERA) has two wins during that span and boasts a 2.37 ERA in his last three starts. He had seven strikeouts in 5 2-3 innings of a 5-3 win over San Francisco on Saturday after striking out 10 in 7 1-3 innings of his previous start.
Meche lasted 4 2-3 innings in his only career start against St. Louis on June 20, 2007, allowing four runs and eight hits in a 7-6, 14-inning loss.
He’ll face a more formidable Cardinals lineup than the Royals saw last week, however, as Albert Pujols has returned after missing 13 games with a calf injury.
"That will make a difference," Meche told the Royals’ official Web site. "He’s one of those hitters that you’ve got to watch."
Pujols, who played high school and junior college baseball in the Kansas City area, is hitting .398 with eight homers and 24 RBIs in 21 games at Kauffman Stadium. St. Louis has won 11 of its last 14 there despite dropping two of three in Kansas City last June.
Pujols was activated from the disabled list Thursday and went 4-for-4 with an intentional walk in a 3-2, 10-inning loss to Detroit.
"Today he showed you how truly great a player he really is," St. Louis manager Tony La Russa said.
The Cardinals, though, lost for the third time in four games as their bullpen faltered again. Ryan Franklin blew a 2-1 lead in the ninth, and Mike Parisi’s bases-loaded walk to rookie Clete Thomas in the 10th ended the game.
Kyle McClellan blew a save and took the loss in an 8-7 defeat to the Tigers on Wednesday, while Chris Perez squandered a lead in the eighth inning of a 5-3, 13-inning loss at Boston on Sunday.
The defeat to the Red Sox cost Joel Pineiro what would have been his first win since April, but Pineiro (2-3, 3.86) has been impressive in his last two starts. He gave up one run in seven innings of a 2-1 victory over the Royals on June 17, then allowed two runs in seven-plus innings against Boston.
Pineiro is 4-1 with a 3.12 ERA in 10 appearances – six starts – versus Kansas City.
Did you like this article? Subscribe to our Baseball news feed for the fastest updates delivered right to you – Click here to Subscribe