The Cardinals will be trying to slam their rivals from the other league on Thursday, as the Kansas City Royals visit in inter-league play at Busch Stadium.

For the Cardinals, Michael Wacha gets the ball, charged with keeping the Royals hitters off the base paths. He'll face Jeremy Guthrie, 5-3 on the year.



View Kansas City vs St Louis Odds and Stats.

Betting Line:
Those going with the Cardinals in this one found them listed as moneyline favorites of -147 at Sportsbook for Monday's contest. The total was hovering near 8.5 at Sportsbook.

Power Rankings:
According to new MLB Power Rankings here, it's the National League No. 1-ranked Cardinals and the American League No. 7-rated Royals in this matchup.



How They Match Up:
The game also pits St. Louis' No. 2-rated National League offense, averaging 4.8 runs per game, against a Royals defense that ranks No. 6 in the American League at 4.1 in runs allowed per game. The Cardinals have averaged 9.1 hits per game so far, more than Royals batters have averaged on the year (9 hits per game).

Comparing defensive stats, Kansas City owns the American League's No. 3-rated road mark, allowing 3.8 runs per game on the highway. St. Louis, on the other hand, rates No. 6 in scoring at home.

In their last action, Kansas City was a 5-3 loser on the road against the Cardinals. Bettors on St. Louis at -183 on the moneyline collected their winnings from that game, while the total score (8) sent UNDER bettors home happy as well. Kansas City looks to rebound from a loss to the Cardinals, who beat them 5-3 on Wednesday behind a start from Lance Lynn at Busch Stadium.




Kansas City Royals Trends:
When playing on Thursday are 4-6
Before playing Texas are 5-5
After playing St. Louis are 2-8
After a loss are 1-9

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

A few Royals at Cardinals trends to consider:
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Kansas City's last 6 games
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Kansas City's last 6 games when playing St. Louis
Kansas City is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games when playing on the road against St. Louis
Kansas City is 1-6 SU in its last 7 games on the road
St. Louis is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing Kansas City
St. Louis is 7-1 SU in its last 8 games
St. Louis is 10-3 SU in its last 13 games at home
The total has gone OVER in 4 of St. Louis' last 6 games when playing Kansas City


Next up:
Kansas City at Texas, Friday, May 31
St. Louis home to San Francisco, Friday, May 31