Kansas City Royals vs St. Louis Cardinals Prediction, 8/8/2021 MLB Pick, Tips and Odds
Game: Kansas City Royals vs St. Louis Cardinals
Date: Sunday, August 8, 2021
Location: Busch Stadium in St. Louis, MO
TV: Bally Sports Midwest
Odds/Point Spread: Kansas City (+135) St. Louis (-172)
Jon Lester and the St. Louis Cardinals (54-55, 3rd in NL Central) play the Kansas City Royals (47-61, 4th in AL Central) at Busch Stadium on Sunday. The Cardinals open this matchup at -172 while the Royals are coming in at +135. The O/U has been set at 9.5. The pitchers taking the mound are Kris Bubic and Jon Lester.
Kansas City is slugging .391 and have struck out 874 times, while taking a walk on 286 occasions. They have accumulated 420 RBI's as well as 861 hits on the campaign, and their average at the plate is .241. The Royals have hit 154 two-baggers as a squad and have smacked 113 baseballs out of the park. They have a total of 443 runs and hold an on-base percentage of .301. As a team, the Kansas City Royals are earning 4.1 runs per game, which ranks them 25th in the league.
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The Royals have compiled a team ERA of 4.90 for the season (26th in baseball), and they have struck out 924 hitters. Their K/BB ratio is 2.25 and their pitching staff holds a WHIP of 1.42. Royals pitchers have conceded 134 home runs and 534 total runs (22nd in the league). They have walked 411 opposing players and their FIP is 4.50 as a team for the year.
The Royals relievers have earned a save rate of 60.0% and has entered the game in 95 save situations. The relievers have inherited 152 base runners so far this season and 28.9% of those players ended up crossing the plate. Royals pitchers have gone to the mound with opponents on base 95 times as well as having 88 appearances in high leverage situations. The Royals have dispatched 363 relievers to the mound so far this season. The relievers have a total of 55 holds on the season (15th in MLB). They have tallied 24 saves so far this season and have blown 16 of their 40 save opportunities.
The Royals have turned 68.1% of baseballs in play into outs out of their 8,406 innings on the field, ranking them 27th in the majors. The Kansas City Royals have 2,802 putouts at this point in the season, in addition to 933 assists and 59 errors. Their fielding rate sits at .984 which puts them in 16th in professional baseball, and have accumulated 739 double plays.
Bubic (4-11 career mark) has a FIP of 5.26 while he has gone up against 566 opposing batters in the major leagues. He has given up 128 base hits (8.8 hits per 9 innings) and has 61 walks. His earned run average is 4.48 (65 ER's allowed) and he has a career WHIP of 1.446. Bubic has pitched in 130 innings and has totaled 117 punch outs so far in his career.
The St. Louis Cardinals have an on-base percentage of .305 as well as a batting average of .235 over the course of the season. They have struck out on 890 occasions (26th in MLB) and have 840 base hits. St. Louis is sitting with 119 home runs on the year to go along with 415 RBIs. The Cardinals have a team slugging % of .388 and they are recording 3.99 runs per contest (26th in the league). They have hit 168 doubles, while getting a free base 320 times as well as recording 435 runs.
The Cardinals have a team WHIP of 1.358 and have a FIP of 4.45 as a pitching staff for the year. They currently have a strikeout to walk ratio of 1.82 (835 strikeouts against 458 bases on balls). They are sitting at 8th in the league as a staff in total hits allowed with 832. They have yielded 99 homers and they relinquish 4.57 runs per 9 innings (14th in the league). The St. Louis pitching staff have given up 482 runs for the year while having a team ERA of 4.25 (449 earned runs yielded).
Sitting with 100 save situations, the Cardinals have amassed 56 holds in addition to 12 blown saves. St. Louis has had bullpen pitchers step onto the mound in 42 save opportunities and they have earned 30 saves. Their bullpen pitchers have stepped onto the mound 104 times in high leverage situations and also on 122 occasions with runners on base. St. Louis relief pitchers hold an inherited score percentage of 38.0% out of 208 inherited base runners. They sit at 2nd in MLB with a save rate of 71.4%, and they have sent 376 relievers to the mound on the year.
The St. Louis Cardinals have turned 86 double plays and own a fielding percentage of .985 (12th in pro baseball). The Cardinals have recorded 992 assists, 60 errors and have earned a total of 2,851 putouts on the campaign. Out of their 8,553 innings on the field, the Cardinals hold a defensive efficiency of 71.1% (5th in professional baseball).
So far in his MLB career, Lester has surrendered 2,551 base knocks and he has 2,452 strikeouts in 2,679 innings. He has given up a total of 1,088 ER's while earning a WHIP of 1.276 and a FIP of 3.8. He has a K/BB ratio of 2.82 and he has gone up against 11,226 opposing hitters so far in his pro baseball career. Lester (196-117 career mark) has a 3.66 earned run average and has conceded 8.6 hits per 9 innings.
Who will win tonight's MLB game ATS?
Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Kansas City (+135)
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Additional Resources:
St. Louis Cardinals - Twitter
Kansas City Royals - Twitter