The Kansas City Royals are visiting the Saint Louis Cardinals on Thursday, June 5th at the Busch Stadium in the second game of today’s double-header, as yesterday’s game was postponed. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best bets for this game. Here’s the Royals vs Cardinals Game 2 Prediction. We will examine:
The Saint Louis Cardinals’ recent form and player performance
The Kansas City Royals’ recent form and player performance
Recent betting trends and streaks involving the Saint Louis Cardinals
Recent betting trends and streaks involving the Kansas City Royals
Recent betting trends in games played between the Kansas City Royals vs Saint Louis Cardinals
A summary that ties it all together and produces a favorable betting outcome for the Kansas City Royals vs Saint Louis Cardinals game
Saint Louis Cardinals Preview
The Saint Louis Cardinals have a 33-27 record this season and are sitting in second place in the NL Central. The Cardinals have a 19-9 home record and are 32-26 in over/under. They are coming off a 7-10 home defeat by the Royals, and are 1-3 in their last 4 games. Over is 5-1 in their last 6 games, and they are playing the Dodgers and the Blue Jays next.
The Cardinals have a .259 batting average this season, a .329 OBP, and a .397 Slugging percentage. Saint Louis’ pitching staff has a 3.88 ERA and 1.25 WHIP. Brendan Donovan leads the Cardinals with 71 hits and a team-high .321 batting average, while Wilson Contreras leads the team in RBI, with 32.
Matthew Liberatore (L) will take the mound for the Cardinals, and he has a 3-4 record, 3.08 ERA, and 1.06 WHIP. He has been excellent at home, with a 1.69 ERA across five home starts, and he is coming off his second-worst start of the season, having given up 4 runs in 5 innings pitched. In his previous start against the Royals this season, he gave up one run in 6 innings of work.
Kansas City Royals Preview
The Kansas City Royals have a 32-29 record this season and are sitting in 4th place in the AL Central. The Royals have a 13-16 road record and are 22-38 in over/under. They are coming off a 10-7 road victory over the Cardinals, and are 4-6 in their last 10 games. They are playing the Yankees and the White Sox next.
The Royals have a .248 batting average this season, a .302 OBP, and a .362 Slugging percentage. Kansas’ pitching staff has a 3.19 ERA and 1.19 WHIP. Bobby Witt Jr leads the Royals with 68 hits, adding a team-high 35 RBI. Maikel Garcia is the team’s best hitter with a .313 batting average, while Vinnie Pasquantino leads the team in home runs, with 8.
Cole Ragans (R) will take the mound for the Royals, and he has a 2-3 record, 4.53 ERA, and 1.20 WHIP. He has been better on the road, with a 3.78 ERA in his three road starts, but he has been in terrible form lately, having given up 4+ runs in four of his last five starts. In his previous start against the Cardinals this season, he gave up 4 runs in 5 innings of work.
Why the St. Louis Cardinals will win
- The Cardinals have won eight of their last nine day games at Busch Stadium following a home loss.
- The Royals have lost seven of their last eight games following a win.
- The Cardinals have covered the run line in each of their last six games on the first leg of a doubleheader.
- The Royals have failed to cover the run line in each of their last four games following a win.
- The Royals have trailed after 3 innings in four of their last five road games against NL Central opponents that held a winning record.
- The Royals have trailed after 5 innings in three of their last four day games.
Why the Kansas City Royals will win
- The underdogs have won seven of the Royals’ last eight games.
- The Cardinals have lost eight of their last 10 games as favorites against AL Central opponents.
- The Royals have covered the run line in each of their last eight games at Busch Stadium.
- The Cardinals have failed to cover the run line in nine of their last 10 games as favorites against AL Central opponents.
- The Royals have led after 3 innings in each of their last five Thursday games against National League opponents that held a winning record.
- The Cardinals have trailed after 5 innings in five of their last six games as favorites against American League opponents.
Total Runs Facts
- Each of the Cardinals’ last four home games on the first leg of a doubleheader have gone OVER the total runs line.
- Four of the Royals’ last five games as underdogs against NL Central opponents have gone UNDER the total runs line.
- The ‘Inning 1 OVER 0.5 runs’ market has hit in six of the Cardinals’ last seven games as favorites.
- The ‘Inning 1 OVER 0.5 runs’ market has hit in five of the Royals’ last six road games against NL Central opponents.
Matchup/League Facts
- The Cardinals rank 29th in the league for strikeouts this season (431).
- The Cardinals rank 3rd in the league for batting average this season (.259).
- The Royals rank 30th in the league for home runs this season (36).
- The Royals rank 30th in the league for walks this season (144).
Royals vs Cardinals Game 2 Prediction
Both teams are tied 2-2 wins this season, and the Royals are 6-5 in their last 11 meetings. Over is 6-2 in their last 8 meetings.
In this Royals vs Cardinals Game 2 Prediction, the Cardinals are coming as -115 home favorites. Both teams have almost identical overall records, but Saint Louis has been excellent at home, while Kansas City has been below average on the road. Royals have the better bullpen, but one of the weakest offenses in the MLB.
The pitching advantage goes to the home team, as Liberatore is looking much better than Ragans, especially at home, and his previous start against the Royals was a quality start. Ragans has been looking terrible for the Royals lately, and the Cardinals have a better batting average both overall and against lefties. Take the Saint Louis Cardinals on the moneyline in the first 5 innings of this game.