The St. Louis Cardinals (26-24) and Kansas City Royals (21-32) tee it up for round two of the 2020 I-70 Series. The Redbirds and and Royals will play three games at Kauffman Stadium to kick off the last week of the regular season. The series gets going Monday night at 8:05 p.m. ET. Below, we analyze the Cardinals-Royals MLB betting odds and lines, with picks and best bets.
Cardinals at Royals: Projected starting pitchers
RHP Adam Wainwright vs. RHP Carlos Hernandez
Wainwright owns a 2.87 ERA and 0.98 WHIP in 8 starts this season.
- Scuffled in an Aug. 25 turn against KC (nine base runners, 4 earned runs in 7 IP), and current Royals bats own a high-contact .782 OPS against him.
- Has surface numbers buoyed by a .228 batting average on balls in play and a high rate of keeping traffic on the bases from reaching home plate. The St. Louis bullpen is similarly overrated due to a BABIP boost.
Hernandez is a 23-year-old rookie making his second start. In 9.1 innings covering one start and two relief appearances, the 6-foot-4, 250-pounder has allowed 4 ER on 8 hits and 2 walks. He has fanned six.
- Three of the four runs Hernandez has allowed have come on home runs. All three came in his last outing, which was a three-inning start against the Pittsburgh Pirates.
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Cardinals at Royals: Key injuries
(Get the latest injury news here.)
Cardinals
- OF Dexter Fowler (personal) out
- RP Giovanni Gallegos (groin) questionable
Royals
- OF Jorge Soler (oblique) out
- RP Ian Kennedy (calf) out
- OF Franchy Cordero (wrist) out
Also see: BaseballHQ Fantasy Baseball
Cardinals at Royals: Odds, lines, picks and betting tips
MLB odds courtesy of BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports for a full list. Odds last updated at 11:20 a.m. ET.
Money line (ML)
The streaky ROYALS (+160) are the lean here. There is some baked-in value on looking at KC as a .400 team, and Wainwright figures as a 4-something pitcher if you’re going by ERA.
The Royals have the better bullpen, and it’s better rested at the back end.
Run line/Against the spread (ATS)
Two of the August games were decided by one run, but, overall, these two play fewer one-run games than normal. The price-per-pound on the ROYALS +1.5 (+100) tag isn’t quite what the money-line play is worth.
Over/Under (O/U)
This is the most advisable play for this contest. Both starting pitchers figure as question marks, and Wainwright especially is a likely misnomer with his fortunate ERA. The Royals have scored 5.2 RPG game over their last eight.
Back the OVER 9 (-110).
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