The St. Louis Cardinals were not about to be shown-up by the Kansas City Royals. It was embarrassing to say the least Friday night when winless Jeff Francis threw shut-out ball for 7 2/3-innings getting a win in Kansas City's 3-0 result. The Cardinals answered in Saturday's matinee when former American Leaguer Jake Westbrook threw eight frames of goose eggs at the Royals while only scattering four hits. The Cards held on for their 3-zip win. Today (2 pm ET) the Royals and Cardinals continue their I-70 series with the rubber game at Kaufman Stadium.
The Royals hand the ball to Sean O'Sullivan who is currently 2-3 with a 4.65 ERA. The Royals right-hander has never faced the Cardinals. Pitching the Royals to a win today will be difficult because the Cardinals are countering with left-hander Jamie Garcia who is undefeated with five wins and a 1.64 ERA.
The Cardinals are lined -172 MLB Odds moneyline favorites for Sunday's game with a 8 1/2-run total. Royals backers are getting +157 ML odds as home underdogs.
Garcia had a rough time against the Royals last year when he gave up five earned runs in two innings. The young Cardinals lefty will definitely be looking for some satisfaction today. His last time out against the Phillies Garcia lasted eight full innings against the Phillies while only throwing 103 pitches. O'Sullivan struggled with his control on Tuesday when he gave up six runs in five innings against the Indians.
For today's MLB Picks for this game I'm going with Garcia and the Cardinals in this one. MLB Best Bet – St. Louis -172 ML. The UNDER trend is also looking pretty good right now.
