The St. Louis Cardinals will look to grab an inter-league road victory when they take on the Royals in Kansas City at Kauffman Stadium on Friday in baseball action.

It's a pitching duel between Jeff Francis for the Royals (0-5 on the year) and Chris Carpenter for St. Louis (1-3 so far).



View St Louis vs Kansas City Odds and Stats.

Betting Line:
Sportsbooks had installed the Royals as +125 moneyline underdogs in this particular MLB matchup. The total, meanwhile, was set early at 8.5 before betting started to move the line.

Power Rankings:
The Royals - Cardinals odds would favor the Cardinals if the lines were set according to our power ranks. Kansas City is rated No. 10 in the current American League Odds Shark poll, while St. Louis is at No. 3 in the National League.



How They Match Up:
Rating these teams in several key categories is important for handicappers and Kansas City has the American League's No. 3-rated offensive output, at 8.9 hits per game. The Cardinals average 9.7 hits per game, good for No. 2 on the National League list.

St. Louis brings the National League's No. 6-rated defense to this matchup, facing the Royals' league No. 13-ranked defense.

St. Louis won its last outing, a 4-2 result against the Astros on May 19. Bettors who backed the Cardinals at -154 on the moneyline won on the day, and the total score (6) sent UNDER bettors to the payout window. St. Louis rolled to a 4-2 win against Houston on Thursday, as Kyle McClellan and the Cardinals' bats led the team to victory at Busch Stadium.

Kansas City won its last outing, a 2-1 result against the Rangers on May 19. Bettors who backed the Royals at -110 on the moneyline won on the day, and the total score (3) sent UNDER bettors to the payout window. Kansas City needed extra innings to get the job done against the Rangers on Thursday as the Royals defeated them 2-1 at Kauffman Stadium.


St. Louis Cardinals Trends:
When playing on Friday are 4-6
Before playing Kansas City are 7-3
After playing Houston are 7-3
After a win are 5-5

Kansas City Royals Trends:
When playing on Friday are 3-7
Before playing St. Louis are 2-8
After playing Texas are 4-6
After a win are 4-6

A few Cardinals at Royals trends to consider:
The total has gone OVER in 5 of St. Louis' last 5 games on the road
St. Louis is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of St. Louis' last 5 games
St. Louis is 6-2 SU in its last 8 games when playing on the road against Kansas City
The total has gone UNDER in 8 of Kansas City's last 12 games
Kansas City is 3-8 SU in its last 11 games when playing St. Louis
Kansas City is 2-6 SU in its last 8 games when playing at home against St. Louis
Kansas City is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games at home


Next up:
St. Louis at Kansas City, Saturday, May 21