St. Louis Trying to Keep Pace In NL Central Race
The St. Louis Cardinals try to keep within striking distance of the top spot in the NL Central when they host the Kansas City Royals for a one-game makeup series on Monday. St. Louis snapped a two-game losing streak with a come-from-behind win over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Sunday, pulling to within two games of the first-place Milwaukee Brewers. Kansas City was swept in a three-game home series with the New York Yankees over the weekend, falling to fourth place in the AL Central standings. These two teams will play a two-game series in Kansas City following this game, so there is a lot of baseball to be played between these two this week. Before you make a bet online on this contest, check out our in-depth preview of the game.
Let’s check the latest MLB lines, stats, injury reports, and MLB odds for Royals vs Cardinals. We’ve plenty of MLB spreads for you to consider.
Royals Try to Get Out Of Slump
The three-game series sweep at the hands of the New York Yankees over the weekend continued a slump for the Kansas City Royals that has seen them drop eight of their last 10. Much of that has to do with a lack of offense, as they’ve averaged just 3.2 runs over that span, including only 2.6 runs in the eight losses.
Kansas City’s total of 63 runs is the worst in the majors, with the team’s .214 batting average placing 27th among all MLB teams.
Outfielder Andrew Benintendi has been the most reliable Kansas City player at the plate, ranking fifth in baseball with a .366 batting average. Benintendi has two doubles, a triple, a home run, a team-high 10 RBIs, and seven runs scored.
Catcher Salvador Perez is still trying to get going fully this season. He has a team-best five home runs but is batting just .195, adding four doubles, nine RBIs, and nine runs scored.
Right-hander Zack Greinke will get the call for the Monday makeup date for Kansas City. The 38-year-old is 0-1 with a 2.86 ERA in four starts this season. He took a no-decision in his latest outing against the Chicago White Sox on Wednesday, lasting six innings and allowing three runs on five hits while striking out four and walking none.
Cardinals Get Much-Needed Win In Series Finale
The St. Louis Cardinals were just a few batters away from dropping the final three games of their weekend series to the Arizona Diamondbacks, who came into the four-game set with the worst record in the NL West. But a seventh-inning rally, powered by home runs by Harrison Bader and Nolan Arenado, helped St. Louis pull out Sunday’s series finale and possibly right the team’s ship going forward.
“You just try and stay cool in that situation,” Bader said of being down one in the seventh in Sunday’s game. “This was a big win, one that we needed.”
The Cardinals get Monday’s home game before heading to Kansas City for a pair, then heading to the West Coast for a four-game series against the San Francisco Giants over the weekend. Getting more consistent at the plate will need to be a focus for the team after they managed just two total runs in their two losses to the Diamondbacks.
Arenado has been one of the most consistent batters in baseball this season, tying for third in the majors with his .368 batting average and tying for fifth with his 18 RBIs. The All-Star third baseman also has seven doubles, six home runs, and 12 runs scored and comes into this game with a four-game hit streak.
St. Louis will have left-hander Steven Matz making his fifth start of the season in Monday’s game. Matz is 2-1 with a 6.11 ERA in his first season with the Cardinals. He earned a no-decision against the New York Mets on Wednesday in his last outing, allowing four runs on six hits over four innings while striking out six and walking two.
Royals vs Cardinals Head-to-Head
The St. Louis Cardinals won the first meeting between these two rivals this season, winning at home on April 12, 6-5. St. Louis dominated against the Kansas City Royals in 2021, taking five of the six matchups, including going 3-0 on the road.
The Cardinals have swept four of their last five series on the road against the Royals and haven’t lost a series at home to Kansas City since the 2018 campaign. The MLB lines anticipate that trend continuing this season, with the Cardinals getting the edge at home on Monday.
Royals vs Cardinals Game Information
- Game: Royals (7-13) vs Cardinals (12-9)
- Location: Busch Stadium
- Day/Time: Monday, May 02, 1:15 p.m. ET
- Royals vs Cardinals Live stream: MLB.tv
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Royals vs Cardinals Betting Lines
Royals vs Cardinals Prediction
The Kansas City Royals are having trouble getting runs on the board, which isn’t a good thing to have happening when facing the St. Louis Cardinals on the road. Matz has given up runs at times this season, but he should have enough to lead St. Louis to the victory.
When doing your MLB betting, take St. Louis to get the win at home.
