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The St. Louis Cardinals (59-57) and Kansas City Royals (64-52) meet Friday to open a 2-game series. First pitch from Kauffman Stadium is set for 8:10 p.m. ET. Let’s analyze BetMGM Sportsbook’s lines around the Cardinals vs. Royals odds and make our expert MLB picks and predictions for the best bets.
Season series: Royals lead 2-0 with doubleheader sweep (8-5, 6-4) July 11
Kansas City beat the Boston Red Sox 8-4 Wednesday while covering as a -134 home favorite. SS Bobby Witt Jr. went 3-for-4 with 2 HRs and a double and had 4 RBIs. The win came after back-to-back losses to the Red Sox.
St. Louis lost 6-4 Thursday to the Tampa Bay Rays as a -115 home favorite. The Cardinals allowed the Rays to score 3 runs in the 7th inning and 1 in the 9th to blow a 4-2 lead. St. Louis had won back-to-back games vs. Tampa.
Cardinals at Royals projected starters
RHP Miles Mikolas vs. RHP Michael Lorenzen
Mikolas (8-9, 5.12 ERA) makes his 24th start. He has a 1.27 WHIP, 1.5 BB/9 and 6.0 K/9 in 128 1/3 IP.
- Last start: Loss, 4 IP, 4 ER, 8 H, 2 BB, 3 K in a 6-2 loss vs. the Chicago Cubs Sunday
- Career vs. Kansas City: 2-0, 0.00 ERA (17 IP, 0 ER), 7 H, 2 BB, 19 K in 2 starts
Lorenzen (5-6, 3.69 ERA) makes his 20th start. He has a 1.28 WHIP, 4.2 BB/9 and 6.7 K/9 in 107 1/3 IP.
- Last start: No-decision, 5 2/3 IP, 1 ER, 5 H, 2 BB, 5 K in a 6-5 loss at Detroit Tigers Saturday
- Career vs. St. Louis: 4-3, 2.22 ERA (56 2/3 IP, 14 ER), 1.20 WHIP, 7.6 K/9 in 2 starts and 33 relief appearances
Who’s going yard? Here’s a breakdown of today’s best home run props with our top picks. Include the BetMGM bonus code SBWIRE to score a $1,500 first-bet offer.
Cardinals at Royals odds
Provided by BetMGM Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated Thursday at 11:18 p.m. ET.
- Moneyline (ML): Cardinals +100 (bet $100 to win $100) | Royals -120 (bet $120 to win $100)
- Run line (RL)/Against the spread (ATS): Cardinals -1.5 (+155) | Royals +1.5 (-190)
- Over/Under (O/U): 9 (O: -120 | U: +100)
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Cardinals at Royals picks and predictions
Prediction
Royals 6, Cardinals 4
Moneyline
LEAN ROYALS (-120).
Kansas City enters as the hotter team, being 7-3 in its last 10 overall while St. Louis is only 5-5 across that same span. The Royals have also won back-to-back matchups vs. St. Louis and are 3-1 in the last 4 overall.
This is a lean because Kansas City is only 1-2 in its last 3 home games and because the teams have split the last 4 matchups in Kansas City.
Run line/Against the spread
PASS.
I like Kansas City to cover here as a +1.5 (-190) underdog, but I prefer the Royals’ odds on the moneyline and I am not a fan of doubling down on the ML and run line. Bet on the moneyline and/or total instead.
Over/Under
BET OVER 9 (-120).
The Over has hit in Kansas City’s last 3 games and is 7-3 over its last 10 while for St. Louis, the Over is 3-1 in its last 4 road games and is 6-4 in its last 10 overall.
The Over has also hit in 3 of the last 4 St. Louis-Kansas City matchups in Kansas City, being 6-4 in the last 10 meetings overall.
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