Sunday afternoon baseball and we will see the Kansas City Royals take on the St Louis Cardinals in game 3 of their 3 game series from Busch Stadium in St Louis. Free Pick to follow. First pitch is scheduled for a 2:15 PM (Eastern) start time and the game will be televised locally.
Betting Odds
Royals +125
Cardinals -135
Over/ Under: 7.5 -110
The teams have played a couple of low scoring games in this series so far, with the Cardinals winning both. Despite losing the first 2 in this series the Royals are still 2 games ahead of Minnesota for first pace in the AL Central. The Cardinals come in with the best record in baseball at 41-21 and they are 6.5 games ahead of 2nd place Pittsburgh in the NL Central.
The Royals rank 9th in scoring (4.25 rpg), 5th in hitting (.266) and 28th in homers (45), while on the mound they are 5th in ERA (3.38) and 8th in WHIP (1.21). The Royals are 20-8 in their last 28 interleague games vs. a right-handed starter, but just 3-7 in their last 10 games as an underdog of +110 to +150 and 1-4 in their last 5 interleague road games.
St Louis ranks 22nd in scoring (3.98 rpg), 7th in hitting (.262) and 26th in homers (47), while on the mound they are 1st in ERA (2.65) and 5th in WHIP (1.20). The Cardinals have gone 42-12 in their last 54 home games and 51-19 in their last 70 games as a favorite, but just 5-11 in their last 16 interleague home games.
Getting the ball for the Royals today will be Chris Young, who is 5-2 with a 2.25 ERA on the year, while on the road he has gone 1-1 with a 2.08 ERA. Chris has gone 1-3 with a 2.93 ERA in 6 career starts vs the Cardinals, which includes an 0-1 mark and a 3.18 ERA in 3 career starts at Busch.
Taking the hill for the Cardinals today will be John Lackey, who is 4-4 with a 3.74 ERA in 12 starts this year, while at home he has gone 4-1 with a 1.73 ERA. Lackey has gone 3-5 with a 3.67 ERA in 11 career starts vs the Royals.
Pick: I will look to the Under in this one. Chris Young has been solid on the mound this year and he has nice numbers vs the Cards in his career. John Lackey has been excellent at home this year and he has a decent ERA vs the Royals in his career. Neither offense is hitting right now and that should continue vs these two very solid starters in this one. We also note that the Under is 8-1-3 the last 12 meetings in this series. I see another low scoring affair this afternoon.
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Stop the All-Star Game Ballot Stuffing
Pro handicappers Teddy Covers and Steve Fezzik have a bone to pick with MLB Commisioner Bud Selig, who decided the All-Star exhibition game will determine World Series home field advantage. With Royals fans currently voting seven Kansas City players into the starting line up of the American League team, this popularity-based roster of an exhibition game which has way too much impact on the most important baseball series of the year.