St Louis Cardinals vs Kansas City Royals Prediction, Preview and Odds - 08/09/2024

Game Time: 8:10 pm ET, Friday, August 9, 2024

Venue:  Kauffman Stadium, Kansas City, MO

Where to Watch:  BSKC

DraftKings:  Moneyline odds:  Cardinals +100, Royals -120; Over/Under:  9 runs

Bet365:  Moneyline odds:  Cardinals +100, Royals -120; Over/Under:  9 runs

BetMGM:  Moneyline odds:  Cardinals +100, Royals -120; Over/Under:  9 runs

St Louis Cardinals:  59-56 (2nd place, NL Central)

Kansas City Royals:  64-52 (3rd place, AL Central)

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St Louis Cardinals:  5-5 last 10

Kansas City Royals:  7-3 last 10

The Cardinals lost their 1-off game against the New York Mets in their last series. They enter this game with a 59-56 record overall and have a road record of 28-30. This is the series opener of a 2-game series with the Royals on Friday with the series finale of their series against the Tampa Bay Rays still to be played on Thursday. The Cardinals won the series opener of that series on Tuesday and the 2nd game on Wednesday. Their offense ranks 19th in the MLB with a .696 OPS. Kyle Gibson is their starting pitcher on Thursday while Miles Mikolas is making his start in this game on Friday. He is 8-9 with a 5.12 ERA this season. His team won 2 of their last 3 games this season with him making an appearance. In his last MLB regular season start, he allowed 4 ER, 0 HR, and 2 BB with 3 Ks on 8 hits through 4 IP against the Chicago Cubs.

The Royals are entering this series off a win and lost their 3-game series against the Boston Red Sox 2-1 in their last series. They enter this game with a 64-52 record overall and have a home record of 37-24. This is the 1st game of a 2-game series with the Cardinals on Friday and they have Thursday off as a day of rest. Their offense ranks 12th in the MLB with a .725 OPS. Cole Ragans was their starting pitcher on Wednesday while Michael Lorenzen is making his start in this game on Friday. He is 5-6 with a 3.69 ERA this season. His team lost their last 3 straight games this season with him making an appearance. In his last MLB regular season start, he allowed 1 earned run, 0 homers, and 2 BB with 5 strikeouts on 5 hits through 5.2 innings played against the Detroit Tigers.

The current betting odds have the Royals listed as a slight favorite in this game according to Draftkings Sportsbook. The Royals have looked really good in their games this season with their 64-52 record overall which has them in 3rd place of the AL Central but fighting for a Wild Card spot in the AL with that record. They have also looked a lot better in their home games this season with their 37-24 home record. Meanwhile, the Cardinals have looked good in their games this season with their 59-56 record overall which has them in 2nd place of the NL Central, but that record still has them far away from the Brewers in 1st and they have a lot of work to do to get into Wild Card contention too. They have looked a lot worse in their road games this year too, going 28-30 in those. They haven't looked great lately either, going 5-5 in their last 10 games, but the Royals are 7-3 in their last 10 games and will be looking to bounce back from their series loss against the Red Sox. Lorenzen is on the mound for the Royals in this one and he is 5-6 with a 3.69 ERA. His team has lost 3 games in a row with him starting, but he has been pitching well in those and is due for a win with his new team. He only gave up 1 earned run in his last start and he will have a stronger offense with the Royals to help him out in this one. Mikolas is on the mound for the Cardinals and he hasn't looked great in his starts this season. He is 8-9 with a 5.12 ERA and has been giving up a lot of runs all season. His team has won 2 of their last 3 games with him starting, but he did give up 4 earned runs in his last start in only 4 innings against a weaker Cubs offense and he isn't going to keep this Royals offense off the board since they have been putting up runs lately. The Royals are trying to get themselves into the playoffs and will continue to roll in this game with the better pitching matchup. The best way to place a bet here is on the Royals to win this game.

Cardinals Royals Prediction:  Our MLB Pick for Friday, August 9, 2024 (8:10 pm ET start time) is Royals 6 Cardinals 3.

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St Louis Cardinals: 11-15 (-6.95 units) on the moneyline in their last 26 games. 0-5 (-4.60 units) on the first 5 moneyline in their last 5 away games. 26-18 to the over in their last 44 games. 

Kansas City Royals: 37-22 (+11.40 units) on the moneyline in their last 59 home games. 35-24 (+10.84 units) on the runline in their last 59 home games. 25-15 to the over with their team total in their last 40 home games. 

St Louis Cardinals:  M. Siani (CF) Out indefinitely - Oblique. L. Lynn (SP) Mid Aug - Knee. S. Matz (SP) Out indefinitely - Back. K. Middleton (RP) Out indefinitely - Forearm. R. O'Brien (SP) Out indefinitely - Elbow. D. Rom (SP) Out indefinitely - Shoulder.

Kansas City Royals:  J. Schreiber (RP) Out indefinitely - Knee. D. Altavilla (RP) Mid Sep - Oblique. K. Wright (SP) out for season - Shoulder. J. Taylor (RP) Late June - Bicep.

“I was nice to do it today. I got a little lucky. It was nice to come through for the guys there. Obviously, it starts with the two guys before me who got on base.” - Nolan Arenado after their win against the Rays in their game on Wednesday. 

“I think he's the best player in the league. Clearly, I'm going to be biased.” - Matt Quatraro after his team’s win against the Red Sox in their game on Wednesday. 

M Winn (R) SS

A Burleson (L) 1B

W Contreras (R) C

B Donovan (L) LF

N Arenado (R) 3B

L Nootbaar (L) RF

M Carpenter (L) DH

N Gorman (L) 2B

V Scott II (L) CF

M Massey (L) 2B

B Witt Jr. (R) SS

V Pasquantino (L) DH

S Perez (R) 1B

H Renfroe (R) RF

M Melendez (L) LF

F Fermin (R) C

M Garcia (R) 3B

K Isbel (L) CF

Batting Average:  Tommy Pham (.379)

Hits:  Masyn Winn (113)

Home Runs:  Nolan Gorman (19)

RBI:  Alec Burleson (66)

Stolen Bases:  Michael Siani (14)

Wins:  Sonny Gray (11)

Saves:  Ryan Helsley (36)

ERA:  Ryan Loutos (0.00)

Batting Average:  Bobby Witt (.349)

Hits:  Bobby Witt (162)

Home Runs:  Bobby Witt (22)

RBI:  Vinnie Pasquantino (84)

Stolen Bases:  Maikel Garcia (27)

Wins:  Seth Lugo (13)

Saves:  James McArthur (18)

ERA:  Jordan Lyles (0.00)

Managers:

St Louis Cardinals: Oliver Marmol (3rd season)

Kansas City Royals: Matt Quatraro (2nd season)