Kansas City Royals at St. Louis Cardinals 5/23/2018 Free MLB Picks and Predictions
Wednesday, May 23, 2018
Busch Stadium
Get todays MLB odds and lines on this game.
Probable Pitchers: Jakob Junis vs. Michael Wacha
The Kansas City Royals visit Busch Stadium on Wednesday, May 23, 2018 to play the St. Louis Cardinals. The probable starters are Jakob Junis for the Royals and Michael Wacha for the Cardinals.
The opening line for this matchup has Kansas City at +178 and St. Louis at -190. The Royals have a 19-26-2 over/under record and a 17-30-0 run line mark. The Cardinals are 20-25-0 against the run line and have a 17-24-4 over/under record.
Valuable Kansas City Royals Betting Trends
The Kansas City Royals are 19-26-2 against the over/under
The Kansas City Royals are 17-30-0 against the run line
Important St. Louis Cardinals Betting Trends
The St. Louis Cardinals are 17-24-4 against the over/under
The St. Louis Cardinals are 20-25-0 against the run line
Key Kansas City Royals Injuries
05/21/18 3B Cheslor Cuthbert Back 10-day DL (05/16)
05/15/18 1B Lucas Duda Foot 10-day DL (05/14)
04/25/18 P Justin Grimm Back 10-day DL (04/22)
03/30/18 P Nathan Karns Elbow 10-day DL (03/26)
03/26/18 CF Bubba Starling Oblique 10-day DL (03/26)
03/26/18 P Jesse Hahn Elbow 60-day DL (03/06)
Key St. Louis Cardinals Injuries
05/19/18 P Matt Bowman Finger 10-day DL (05/17)
05/18/18 3B Paul DeJong Hand 10-day DL (05/18)
05/17/18 C Carson Kelly Hamstring 10-day DL (05/17)
05/16/18 P Luke Gregerson Shoulder 10-day DL (05/16)
05/15/18 P Adam Wainwright Elbow 60-day DL (05/14)
05/12/18 P Tyler Lyons Back 10-day DL (05/09)
05/10/18 P Carlos Martinez Back 10-day DL (05/09)
05/07/18 P Dominic Leone Arm 10-day DL (05/06)
05/06/18 C Yadier Molina Groin 10-day DL (05/06)
03/31/18 P Alex Reyes Elbow 60-day DL (03/31)
Useful Pitching Statistics
The Royals have a 14-33 overall record this season. Starting pitcher Jakob Junis has a 5-3 record with an earned run average of 3.51 and a WHIP of 1.08 this season. He has 48 strikeouts over his 56.1 innings pitched and he's given up 49 hits. He's allowed 7.8 hits per 9 innings and he has a FIP of 4.76. The bullpen has an earned run average of 5.45 and they have given up 173 base hits on the year. Teams are hitting .282 against the bullpen and they've struck out 115 hitters and walked 61 batters. As a team, Kansas City allows 10.2 hits per nine innings while striking out 7 batters per nine innings. They are 30th in the league in team earned run average at 5.57. The Royals pitchers collectively have given up 471 base hits and 258 earned runs. They have allowed 73 home runs this season, ranking them 1st in the league. Kansas City as a pitching staff has walked 144 batters and struck out 324. They have walked 3.1 men per 9 innings while striking out 7 per 9. They have a team WHIP of 1.48 and their FIP as a unit is 5.00.
Hitting Statistics
As a team Kansas City is hitting .254, good for 10th in the league. The Royals hold a .382 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .318, which is good for 15th in baseball. They rank 11th in MLB with 8.7 hits per game. Mike Moustakas is hitting .295 with an on-base percentage of .337. He has 54 hits this season in 183 at bats with 31 runs batted in. He has a slugging percentage of .525 and an OPS+ of 132. Whit Merrifield is hitting .289 this year and he has an on-base percentage of .353. He has totaled 52 hits and he has driven in 16 men in 180 at bats. His OPS+ is 113 while his slugging percentage is at .422. The Royals have 409 hits, including 81 doubles and 39 home runs. Kansas City has walked 135 times so far this season and they have struck out 335 times as a unit. They have left 331 men on base and have a team OPS of .700. They score 3.87 runs per contest and have scored a total of 182 runs this year.
Useful Pitching Statistics
St. Louis has a 26-19 overall mark this year. With an earned run average of 3.08, Michael Wacha has a 5-1 record and a 1.31 WHIP. He has 44 strikeouts over the 49.2 innings he's pitched. He also has given up 44 hits. He's allowing 8 hits per nine innings and his FIP stands at 3.46. The bullpen has an earned run average of 4.10 and they have given up 152 base hits on the year. Teams are hitting .248 against the Cardinals bullpen. Their relievers have struck out 146 batters and walked 66 opposing hitters. As a team, St. Louis allows 8 hits per nine innings while striking out 8.2 batters per nine innings. They are 4th in the league in team earned run average at 3.39. The Cardinals pitchers as a team have surrendered 370 base knocks and 157 earned runs this season. They have given up 37 home runs this year, which ranks 30th in Major League Baseball. St. Louis as a staff has walked 157 hitters and struck out 379 batters. They give up a walk 3.4 times per 9 innings while they strike out 8.2 per 9. Their team WHIP is 1.27 while their FIP as a staff is 3.75.
Hitting Statistics
As a team, they are batting .238, good for 22nd in the league. The Cardinals hold a .394 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .319, which is good for 14th in baseball. They rank 19th in MLB with 8.1 hits per contest. Marcell Ozuna comes into this matchup batting .241 with an OBP of .285. He has 42 hits this year along with 22 RBI in 174 AB's. He maintains a slugging percentage of .322 with an OPS+ of 68. Jose Martinez is hitting .311 this season and he has an OBP of .380. He has collected 51 hits in 164 at bats while driving in 30 runs. He has an OPS+ of 135 and a slugging percentage of .476. The Cardinals as a unit have 363 base hits, including 63 doubles and 57 homers. St. Louis has walked 167 times this year and they have struck out on 399 occasions. They have had 309 men left on base and have an OPS of .713. They have scored 4.49 runs per game and totaled 202 runs this season.
Who will win tonight's Royals/Cardinals MLB game against the spread?
Guy's Pick: Take the Cardinals -190
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