The St. Louis Cardinals were on pace to sweep the Kansas City Royals in their scheduled three-game set back in June, but rain caused that series’ Game 3 to be rescheduled. Tonight, the Cards have the opportunity of completing the sweep home. Will the Cards be able to do just that? Or will the Royals hand St. Louis a loss that’s more than a month in the making?
Read on for a detailed preview of this game. You can also click here for an overview of tonight’s matchup between the Nats and the Pirates.
[sc:MLBArticles ]Kansas City Royals vs. St. Louis Cardinals Preview
Where: Busch Stadium, St. Louis
When: Wednesday, July 23, 2015, 7:15 PM ET
Line: Kansas City Royals (+130) vs. St. Louis Cardinals (-140); total: 7.0 – view all MLB lines
Betting on the Kansas City Royals
[sc:MLB240banner ]Chris Young (8-5, 3.03 ERA) wasn’t sharp in his first start since the All-Star break but picked up a win nonetheless when Kansas City blasted the White Sox on July 17, 4-2. Young will look to have better control this time around, as the Royals give him the ball against a St. Louis later tonight.
Young tossed only five innings against the White Sox, allowing just two runs (both solo homers) on three hits. Considering that he also walked four batters against an offensively challenged team, it’s clear that Young simply didn’t have the desired command that night. Hopefully for Young, his dominant form when pitching on the road shows up tonight when he takes the hill at Busch Stadium. So far this season, Young has garnered a 4-1 record and a 1.84 ERA in six starts away from Kauffman Stadium.
Nevertheless, the Royals’ lineup will have to solve Cards starter, John Lackey, and provide Young the safety net he needs. Although Young has typically pitched well on the road this season, he’s been showing signs of slowing down over his last few starts. In fact, Young has allowed nine runs (five homers) in the last 17 innings he’s logged in on the mound.
Mike Moustakas and Alex Rios are among the top candidates to do great against Lackey later tonight. Moustakas is 3-for-7 (.429) with two doubles in his career against Lackey. Rios, meanwhile, is 10-for-30 (.333) with a double and three RBIs in the same matchup.
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Betting on the St. Louis Cardinals
Like Young, John Lackey was handed a light-hitting opponent in his first start of the season’s second half, as he helped St. Louis get a 12-2 win over the Mets on July 18. Lackey limited the Mets to just one run on 10 hits in seven frames of action to improve his record to 8-5 and lower his ERA to 2.90.
The matchup tonight is Lackey’s chance to get back at the Royals, who handed him a loss on May 23. In that game, Lackey pitched for five innings and yielded three runs on six hits in the Cards’ 3-2 loss on the road. If his performance at home this season is any indication, then expect Lackey to do fine against the Royals in their rematch. In 10 starts at Busch Stadium this year, Lackey has come up with a 6-2 record, a 1.91 ERA, and an opponent batting average of .259. In addition, the Cards are 8-2 in the righty’s last 10 home starts.
Backing Lackey is the Cards’ offense that has averaged 5.4 runs in five games. Watch out for Jason Heyward, whose bat hasn’t cooled off a bit despite the midseason break. Heyward, who went 5-for-5 in the aforementioned Mets game, is hitting .500 (8-for-16) since the start of the second half.
Writer’s Prediction
St. Louis wins, 3-2.
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