Game Information
St. Louis Cardinals (25-20) at Kansas City Royals (25-21)
Time: 6:10pm CT Saturday
How to watch: FanDuel Sports Network
Probable pitchers: Miles Mikolas (2-2, 4.35 ERA) vs Noah Cameron (1-0, 0.00 ERA)
DraftKings Odds
Moneyline: Royals -120, Cardinals +100
Total: 8.5 (over -122, under +102)
Cardinals Look To Take Series
The St. Louis Cardinals look to continue their red-hot run when they meet the Royals tonight in Kansas City.
The Redbirds took the series opener last night 10-3 for their eleventh win in the last twelve games. The Royals meanwhile have dropped five of their last six.
Cards’ Offense Soaring
The Cards are firing on all cylinders right now, with the offense taking center stage the last two games with 24 total runs scored. Overall for the season, the Cardinals rank 2nd in MLB in batting average, 2nd in doubles, 3rd in OBP, 6th in runs per game, and 7th in OPS.
Miles Mikolas has been a rock solid presence in the starting rotation and will be on the mound tonight. The veteran right-hander has allowed 3 earned runs or less in seven of his eight starts this season.
Lugo Scratched For Royals
Tonight’s Royals scheduled starter Seth Lugo has been scratched due to a finger injury. Lugo was the runner-up for last season’s American League Cy Young Award.
The Royals are expected to call up Noah Cameron from Triple-A Omaha to make the start. The left-hander has a 3.31 ERA and 38 strikeouts in 32.2 innings in the minors this year. In his only start with the big club this season, Cameron pitched 6.1 shutout innings in a win at Tampa Bay on April 30th.
My Pick
During this 11-1 stretch for the Cardinals, I have bet their games seven times and compiled a 5-2 record; however, not once have I bet the Cards simply on the moneyline to win the game.
That changes today.
I have complete faith in the Cardinals’ offense right now - and I don’t think a left-hander coming up from the minors is going to shut them down. The Cards are a top 10 offense in MLB in OPS against lefties this season, so I expect them to have another good offensive day.
And I think we need to trust Mikolas until further notice. He has limited his opponents offensively this season outside of the one start in Boston, and here’s thinking he’ll do it again tonight against a scuffling Royals team that ranks 27th in MLB with 3.41 runs per game.
I think this line should be flipped with the Cardinals as a small favorite, so I’ll take the value on the Redbirds at a plus money price.
Pick: Cardinals on the moneyline at +100 on DraftKings (bet to -120)
Eric Sontag hosts Domesticated Gamblers every Friday on the Sports Hub STL YouTube channel. Follow him on X @GamblingDads, and click here for his daily picks on all of our St. Louis area sports teams. Picks = betting the game - minus odds betting to win 1 unit, plus odds risking 1 unit. Leans = no strong opinion, not betting the game. Disclaimer