St. Louis Cardinals at Kansas City Royals

By Bush StaffUpdated 65d ago·1 min read
St. Louis CardinalsSTL(40-32)
Kansas City RoyalsKC(30-45)
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FINAL
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STL
2001102006131
KC
1604011114171

Matthew Liberatore (3-3, 4.71) gets the ball against Noah Cameron (3-4, 4.11) to open a four-game set in Kansas City. Both lefties are coming off no-decisions on June 13 where they each surrendered 4 earned and got pulled after 4.1 innings, so this isn't exactly an ace duel — it's two guys trying to reset.

Show fees
FINAL
Spread
ML
Total
Cardinals(40-32)
LWWLW
6
Royals(30-45)
WLLWL
14
Best BetCardinals -102
Pregame

Cardinals at +103 are a coin flip against a Royals lineup missing Pasquantino, Isbel, India and possibly Garcia. St. Louis is the better team top-to-bottom by 10 games in the standings and you're getting a plus number. Take the road dog.

The bigger storyline is what each team is hauling into Kauffman. The Cardinals are 40-32 and still walking around like a real contender, but they just got pasted 6-1 by San Diego after winning the first two of that series. The Royals are 30-45, 5 games under .500 over their last 10, and the injury report reads like a hospital chart.

St. Louis Cardinals
Matthew Liberatore
(4-5)·5.33 ERA
Jun 13 @ Twins
ND
4.1IP
4ER
4K
1BB
70P
06/18 Lineup
Kansas City Royals
Noah Cameron
(4-6)·4.95 ERA
Jun 13 vs Astros
ND
4.1IP
4ER
1K
0BB
86P
06/18 Lineup
St. Louis Cardinals
St. Louis Cardinals
(7)
  • Day-To-DaySem Robberse (SP)Robberse (elbow) has been sent to the Cardinals' Florida Complex League affiliate to begin a rehab assignment.06/16
  • Day-To-DayPacky Naughton (RP)Naughton will undergo surgery next month to repair the damaged UCL in his left elbow, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.05/14
  • Day-To-DayVictor Santos (RP)The Red Sox traded Santos (undisclosed) and Nick Robertson to the Cardinals on Friday in exchange for Tyler O'Neill (foot), Alex Speier of The Boston Globe reports.05/08
  • Day-To-DayIxan Henderson (SP)Henderson (elbow) is starting the season on the 60-day injured list at Triple-A Memphis.05/08
  • Day-To-DayZack Thompson (RP)The Cardinals reassigned Thompson (shoulder) to minor-league camp Monday.05/08
  • 15-Day-ILRyan Fernandez (RP)Fernandez (back) is on track to begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A Memphis on Friday, Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat reports.06/15
  • 60-Day-ILRamon Urias (3B)Urias (elbow) returned to St. Louis to undergo an examination on his left elbow, Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat reports.06/12
Kansas City Royals
Kansas City Royals
(14)
  • Day-To-DayMaikel Garcia (3B)Garcia (hand) is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Nationals.06/17
  • Day-To-DayAnthony Simonelli (SP)no05/08
  • Day-To-DayJavier Vaz (2B)Vaz (fingers) has produced a .238/.304/.262 slash line with zero home runs and three stolen bases in 10 games since being activated from Double-A Northwest Arkansas' 7-day injured list April 22.05/08
  • Day-To-DayTyson Guerrero (RP)no05/08
  • 7-Day ILSeth Lugo (SP)Lugo (concussion) is expected to be reinstated from the 7-day injured list to start Friday against the Nationals, Anne Rogers of MLB.com reports.06/16
  • 10-Day-ILVinnie Pasquantino (1B)Royals manager Matt Quatraro said that Pasquantino underwent surgery Sunday to remove a fractured hamate bone in his right hand and will face a recovery timeline of roughly 4-6 weeks, Joel Goldberg of Bally Sports Kansas City reports.06/14
  • 10-Day-ILKyle Isbel (CF)Isbel has been diagnosed with a Grade 3 tear of a portion of his left plantar fasciitis.06/11
  • 15-Day-ILKris Bubic (SP)Royals manager Matt Quatraro said Sunday that Bubic underwent another MRI that showed nothing structurally wrong with his left elbow or shoulder, Joel Goldberg of Bally Sports Kansas City reports.06/14
  • 15-Day-ILNick Mears (RP)Mears (shoulder) began a throwing progression this week and could progress to a bullpen by the end of the week, MLB.com reports.06/11
  • 60-Day-ILCole Ragans (SP)The Royals transferred Ragans (elbow) to the 60-day injured list Wednesday.06/17
  • 60-Day-ILCarlos Estevez (RP)The Royals transferred Estevez (shoulder) from the 15-day injured list to the 60-day IL on Monday.06/15
  • 60-Day-ILJonathan India (2B)no06/04
  • 60-Day-ILJames McArthur (RP)McArthur (elbow) underwent surgery Friday to help combat continued soreness and inflammation, MLB.com reports.05/25
  • 60-Day-ILAlec Marsh (SP)The Royals placed Marsh (shoulder) on the 60-day injured list Thursday.05/08

Kansas City is operating without Vinnie Pasquantino (hamate surgery, 4-6 weeks), Kyle Isbel (Grade 3 plantar tear), Cole Ragans on the 60-day, Jonathan India on the 60-day, and Maikel Garcia was out of Wednesday's lineup with a hand issue. That's a lineup card held together with athletic tape. Seth Lugo is reportedly back Friday, so he doesn't help tonight.

Liberatore has been the wobbly link in the Cardinals rotation — a 5.65 ERA over his last 6 starts per stltoday, with command going sideways and trouble getting through 5 innings. Cameron, meanwhile, has been pitching better than his ERA suggests (3.49 FIP, per Yahoo) and just put up 6 innings of 3-strikeout work against Minnesota before the rocky Houston start. Pick your poison.

St. Louis Cardinals
St. Louis Cardinals
(40-32)
Jun 17Lvs Padres1-6
Jun 16Wvs Padres3-2
Jun 15Wvs Padres3-0
Jun 14L@ Twins4-5
Jun 13W@ Twins9-6
Kansas City Royals
Kansas City Royals
(30-45)
Jun 17W@ Nationals6-2
Jun 16L@ Nationals4-6
Jun 15L@ Nationals3-7
Jun 14Wvs Astros4-0
Jun 13Lvs Astros7-8

Pinnacle has the Royals as slight home favorites at -114 with a total of 8.5, which feels about right given the rotation gap on paper is small and KC's bats are short-handed. If you're a Cardinals fan, you want Lars Nootbaar and Brendan Donovan to do what good lineups do to a Triple-A-flavored Royals card. If you're a Royals fan, you're banking on Cameron going 6-plus and the bullpen not blowing up.

MLBSt. Louis CardinalsKansas City RoyalsPolymarketKalshiMatthew LiberatoreNoah Cameron