Royals vs. Cardinals Tuesday Prediction
After getting shut out on Monday night, will the Kansas City Royals rebound tonight when they visit the St. Louis Cardinals again in Game 2 of the I-70 series?
Game Snapshot & Odds
929 Kansas City Royals (+200) at 930 St. Louis Cardinals (-220); 8.5 runs
Tuesday, May 22, 2018
8:15 p.m. ET, Busch Stadium
TV: KC (FSKC); STL (FSMW)
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Public Betting Trends
Oddsmakers from online sportsbooks currently list the Cardinals as a -220 favorite. As of this writing, 71% of the betting tickets wagered at online sportsbooks are on the Cardinals to beat the Royals on the moneyline. This information is subject to change, however, so be sure to check out our MLB Public Betting Page for updated figures on this game.
Royals’ Hammel falls to 0-5 on the season following latest loss
Jason Hammel was tagged for 10 hits and five runs over six innings Wednesday in the Royals’ loss to the Rays. The right-hander logged two strikeouts over 73 pitches and didn’t walk anyone. A hit-by-pitch and two singles led to three Tampa Bay runs in the first inning and C.J. Cron extended the lead with a solo shot in the third. The hits kept coming as the Rays grabbed another run in the fifth after Cron and Joey Wendle led off the inning with back-to-back singles. Hammel, who dropped to 0-5 with Wednesday’s defeat, hasn’t won a start since September 6 of last season. The 13-30 Royals have lost five straight and now sit 8.5 games out of first place in the AL Central.
Cardinals’ Weaver holds down Phillies in bounce back start
Luke Weaver limited the Phillies to one run on four hits over seven innings in taking a tough-luck loss on Thursday. Weaver gave up a solo homer to Carlos Santana in the fifth inning, and it was enough to saddle him with his third loss despite the strong turn. The right-hander walked just one while striking out six in the outing. After a rough stretch of starts in late April and early May, Weaver seems to have figured something out and is pitching more like the guy we expected the 24-year-old to be coming into the year. Weaver will carry a 4.37 ERA and 1.27 WHIP into Tuesday’s cross-state meeting with the Royals.
MLB Betting Trends
Kansas City
The Royals are winless in their last five games against the Cardinals following last night’s 6-0 loss. They’re also 2-6 in their last eight games played at Busch Stadium.
St. Louis
Including last night, the under is now 8-3-2 in the last 13 meetings between these two teams at Busch Stadium.
Prediction:
Cardinals’ starter Miles Mikolas pitched a complete game shutout against the Royals last night and I don’t see Kansas City having a major bounce back performance tonight. Weaver has had his issues this season but he’s a talented pitcher that does a nice job of limiting hard contact. The Cardinals offense struggled mightily for weeks but they’ve shown signs of life of their last five games. Youngster Tyler O’Neill is on a tear after being called up from Triple-A Memphis and Matt Carpenter is finally hitting as well. I’ll lay the 1.5.
The Pick: St. Louis Cardinals -1.5