First pitch from Kauffman is 6:40 PM CT, and the Royals enter Thursday's opener as a team that can't catch a break. The Cardinals are 38-31 and still very much in the NL Central conversation; Kansas City is 29-43 and bleeding bodies. The pitching matchup card sits right below this paragraph — neither side has formally named a Thursday starter yet, but that's about the only mystery the Royals haven't already volunteered. The big one: Vinnie Pasquantino had surgery Sunday to remove a fractured hamate in his right hand and is looking at a 4-to-6 week recovery, per manager Matt Quatraro. That's the Royals' best hitter gone right as he was heating up. Jac Caglianone slides over to first base full-time, John Rave got called up from Triple-A Omaha, and a lineup that was already light on thump has to find runs somewhere else. And it's not just the lineup. Cole Ragans and Kris Bubic are on the IL with elbow stuff, Seth Lugo is on the 7-day concussion list, Carlos Estevez and Nick Mears are out of the bullpen, and Kyle Isbel has a Grade 3 plantar fascia tear in center. That's three rotation arms, two high-leverage relievers, the everyday first baseman and the center fielder. Kansas City did just shut out Houston 4-0 on Saturday to snap a 4-game slide, so the fight is there — the talent on hand is the issue. The Cardinals aren't exactly cruising in either. They've dropped 3 of their last 5 and the losses have been ugly shootouts — 9-8 to the Twins, 5-4 twice in series with New York and Minnesota where the bullpen couldn't hold late leads. Matthew Liberatore has anchored the rotation since taking the ball Opening Day, and with Sonny Gray traded to Boston and Miles Mikolas in Washington, the back half of this staff is a work in progress. Still, a road series at a depleted Kauffman lineup is the spot to stack wins. The series stakes cut differently for each side. For St. Louis, this is a chance to bank cheap wins on an interleague-style road trip before tougher divisional work. For Kansas City, it's about staying competitive without Pasquantino's bat and figuring out who's pitching the 7th and 8th. Quatraro's group is going to have to manufacture runs and steal a starter's outing somewhere in the series — Thursday is as good a night as any to start.