St. Louis Cardinals vs Kansas City Royals Prediction, 8/9/2024 MLB Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: St. Louis Cardinals vs Kansas City Royals

Date: Friday, August 9, 2024

Location: Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, MO

TV: Bally Sports Midwest

Kauffman Stadium is where the Kansas City Royals (64-52) will take on the St. Louis Cardinals (59-56) on Friday. The starting pitchers will be Miles Mikolas and Michael Lorenzen.

As a squad, the St. Louis Cardinals are notching 4.2 runs per contest, which is 23rd in baseball. They have accounted for 477 runs while having a team on-base percentage of .309. The Cardinals have earned 168 two-baggers as a unit and have hit 118 baseballs out of the stadium. They have accumulated 451 runs batted in and 957 hits so far this year, and their average at the plate sits at .246. St. Louis is slugging .387 and have been called out on strikes 951 times, while taking a walk on 328 occasions.

Get all of our MLB Picks

The Cardinals have an ERA of 4.07 for the year (18th in MLB), and their staff has rung up 918 hitters. Cardinals pitchers have conceded 123 home runs and 521 runs (20th in MLB). They have walked 320 players from the other team and their FIP sits at 3.95 as a unit for the season. St. Louis has relinquished 976 base knocks (8.6 per 9 innings) as well as 464 earned runs. Their strikeout to walk ratio is 2.87 and the pitching staff has earned a collective WHIP of 1.26.

The Cardinals relievers have recorded a save percentage of 70.2% and has entered the game in 140 save situations. The relief pitchers have inherited 156 runners this year with 36.5% of those runners earned a run for their team. Cardinals pitchers have entered the contest with runners on 112 times and also have had 130 appearances in high leverage situations. The Cardinals have sent 362 relief pitchers to the mound on the campaign. The bullpen have accumulated 83 holds this season (3rd in baseball). They have 40 saves on the season and have blown 17 out of their 57 chances to get a save.

The Cardinals have converted 69.5% of balls hit into play into outs out of 9,231 innings on the diamond, which has them ranked 19th in MLB. The St. Louis Cardinals are sitting with 3,077 putouts on the campaign, as well as 1,071 assists and 51 errors. Their fielding percentage sits at .988 which puts them in 3rd in professional baseball, and have a total of 110 double plays.

Mikolas (62-62 career record) sits with a FIP of 4.02 while he has faced 4,363 batters in the major leagues. He has conceded 1,055 base knocks (9.0 hits per 9 innings) with 206 free passes. His ERA is 4.08 (477 earned runs allowed) and his WHIP is 1.198. Mikolas has taken the hill for 1,052 frames and is sitting with 759 K's in his pro baseball career.

The Royals have a slugging percentage of .414 and they earn 4.78 runs per game (10th in the league). They have tallied 193 doubles, while taking a walk 304 times as well as notching 554 runs. Kansas City has a total of 126 home runs so far this year to go along with 538 runs batted in. They have been rung up on 784 occasions (29th in MLB) and have earned 980 hits. The Kansas City Royals have tallied a team OBP of .311 in addition to a batting average of .253 so far this season.

The Royals have a WHIP of 1.255 and have a FIP of 3.88 as a team on the season. They are sitting at 18th in MLB as a staff in total hits given up with 937. The Kansas City pitching staff have allowed 460 runs this year while having an ERA of 3.77 (427 earned runs given up). They currently have a strikeout to walk ratio of 8.10 (917 strikeouts vs 343 bases on balls). They have surrendered 107 HR's and they surrender 4.06 runs per 9 innings (6th in the league).

Kansas City bullpen pitchers hold an inherited score rate of 26.6% of 154 inherited runners. Their bullpen pitchers have stepped onto the mound 106 times in high leverage situations and also on 88 occasions with runners on base. With 100 save situations, the Royals have 55 holds in addition to 17 blown saves. They rank 17th in the league with a save rate of 61.4%, and they have dispatched 358 bullpen pitchers to the mound on the campaign. Kansas City has had relievers take the mound in 44 save chances and they have earned 27 saves.

The Kansas City Royals have turned 93 double plays and have a fielding rate of .987 (5th in the majors). The Royals have accrued 1,066 assists, 54 errors and have a total of 3,062 putouts on the season. In 9,186 innings on the diamond, the Royals have earned a defensive efficiency of 70.0% (16th in MLB).

So far in his MLB career, Lorenzen has conceded 758 hits while he has totaled 682 strikeouts in 830 innings. Lorenzen (45-44 win-loss record in his career) holds a 4.06 earned run average while giving up 8.2 hits per 9 innings. He has allowed 375 ER's while holding a WHIP of 1.320 and a FIP of 4.0. His strikeout to walk ratio is 2.02 and he has faced 3,515 hitters during his MLB career.

Who will win tonight's MLB game against the spread or moneyline?

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Kansas City

Get $60 worth of FREE premium member picks. No Obligation. No Salesman. No Credit Card. Fast Sign up with Instant Access Click Here