Cardinals at Royals 8/10/18 - MLB Picks & Predictions

The St. Louis Cardinals open a three-game interleague series on the road Friday against the Kansas City Royals. The Cardinals won their second straight and four of the last five on Wednesday in a 7-1 win over the Miami Marlins. St. Louis received a tiebreaking home run off the bat of Matt Carpenter for the second straight game. St. Louis has now won four straight series’.

Kansas City avoided being swept on Wednesday with a 9-0 victory over the Chicago Cubs. The Royals’ starter Heath Fillmyer gave up three singles in seven innings of work to win for the first time in the majors. Drew Butera and Adalberto Mondesi each knocked in three runs in the win. Jose Martinez leads St. Louis with a .293 batting average. Matt Carpenter is the Cardinals leader in home runs with 31 and RBIs with 63. St. Louis has a team batting average of .249 while opposing hitters are averaging .243 at the plate against Cardinals pitching. On Friday, the Cardinals will send Austin Gomber to the mound. The southpaw this season is 1-0 with an ERA of 4.10, 23 Ks and 14 BBs.

Whit Merrifield leads the Royals with a .300 batting average and team high 130 hits. Salvador Perez is the team leader in home runs with 19 and RBIs with 55. Kansas City has a team batting average of .241 while opposing hitters are averaging .278 at the plate against Royals pitching. On Friday, the Royals will send Burch Smith to the mound. The right-hander this season is 1-3 with an ERA of 6.41, 59 Ks and 29 BBs.