Friday, June 12, 2015

Busch Stadium

For Updated Odds on This Game Click Here

Probable Pitchers: Yordano Ventura (3-5) vs. Jaime Garcia (1-3)

The Kansas City Royals head to Busch Stadium on Friday to take on the St. Louis Cardinals. The Royals send Yordano Ventura to the mound to face Jaime Garcia of the Cardinals. The opening line for this matchup has Kansas City at +114 and St. Louis at -124. The over/under was set at 7. The Royals, with a 33-24 run line record, cover the spread 58% of the time. They also have a 24-28 over/under record. The Cardinals have a 22-36 over/under record and a 35-25 run line mark, which means they are covering the spread 58% of the time.

The Royals show up with a 34-23 record, including 15-12 on the road. Yordano Ventura has a 3-5 record on the season, an earned run average of 4.62 and a 1.24 WHIP. In his starts, the Royals are 4-7 over his 64.1 innings pitched this season while giving up 60 hits during those innings. The Royals are also 4-6 against the over/under in his starts. His teammates are averaging 3.7 runs a game when he pitches. The bullpen has given up 129 hits on the season and have a earned run average of 1.77. Opposing teams are hitting .191 against the Royals bullpen while walking 64 times and striking out 165 times. Kansas City is averaging 6.87 strikeouts per game while getting 7.74 hits per nine innings as a team. They rank 4th in baseball in team earned run average at 3.36.

Kansas City ranks 4th in the league in team batting average at .269 while hitting .271 on the road. The Royals on-base percentage sits at .319, which puts them at 12th in the league and they have a team slugging percentage of .406. Mike Moustakas leads the team in hits with 66 while the team ranks 5th in baseball with 9.18 hits per game.

St. Louis is 22-7 at home while holding a 39-21 overall record on the season. Jaime Garcia has a record of 1-3 while sporting an earned run average of 2.67 on the year with a 1.00 WHIP. In his starts, the Cardinals are 1-3 and he has allowed 22 hits over 27 innings pitched this season. The Cardinals are also 1-3 against the over/under in his starts. His teammates score an average of 1.5 runs a game when he pitches. The bullpen has given up 154 hits on the season and have a team earned run average of 1.98. Opposing teams are hitting .231 against the Cardinals bullpen while walking 58 times and striking out 167 times. St. Louis is averaging 8.17 strikeouts per game while getting 8.3 hits per nine innings as a team. They rank 1st in the league in team earned run average at 2.71.

They rank 7th in the league in team batting average with a .262 average while hitting .278 at home. The Cardinals on-base percentage sits at .326, which puts them at 6th in the league and they have a team slugging percentage of .392. Jhonny Peralta leads the team in hits with 70 while the team ranks 8th in baseball with 8.92 hits a game.

In terms of team defense, the Royals have a fielding percentage of .985 with 31 total errors, 551 assists and 1,518 put outs. The Cardinals have committed 34 errors on the season with 593 assists and 1,626 put outs leading to a team fielding percentage of .985 on the year.

Kansas City Royals Betting Trends

The Kansas City Royals are 24-28 against the over/under so far this season

The Kansas City Royals are 33-24 against the run line so far this season

St. Louis Cardinals Betting Trends

The St. Louis Cardinals are 22-36 against the over/under so far this season

The St. Louis Cardinals are 35-25 against the run line so far this season

Injuries to Watch

Kansas City Royals

06/03/15 P Jason Vargas Elbow Injury is on the 15 day disabled list (5/6)
05/25/15 P Danny Duffy Bicep Injury is on the 15 day disabled list (5/23)
05/17/15 P Brian Flynn Shoulder Injury is on the 60 day disabled list (5/16)
04/06/15 P Tim Collins Elbow Injury is on the 15 day disabled list (4/6)
04/04/15 P Kris Medlen Elbow Injury is on the 60 day disabled list (3/07)

St. Louis Cardinals

06/10/15 P Lance Lynn Forearm "?" Saturday vs. Kansas City Royals
06/09/15 LF Matt Holliday Quad Injury is on the 15 day disabled list (06/10)
05/27/15 1B Matt Adams Quad Injury is on the 15 day disabled list (05/26), out for regular season
05/03/15 P Jordan Walden Bicep Injury is on the 15 day disabled list (4/30)
04/28/15 P Adam Wainwright Achilles Injury is on the 15 day disabled list (4/25); out for season
04/04/15 LF Tommy Pham Quad Injury is on the 60 day disabled list (3/27)

Josh's Pick: Take the Royals

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