Ladies and gentlemen, we're heading to the Busch Stadium, home of the St. Louis Cardinals. It's a beautiful setting, right here, in St. Louis, MO, USA. It's going to be quite the show today, especially for those favoring the pitchers.
Let's look at the starting pitchers. We've got Michael Wacha gracing us for the Royals with stats for this regular season showing a 3.81 ERA, 1.25 WHIP, and a gift of landing at 8.2 K/9 over 15 appearances. That's some talent right there!
On the other side, Andre Pallante steps to the mound for the Cardinals with a 4.20 ERA, 1.52 WHIP, and 7.6 K/9 across 16 appearances. It's fairly matched, but I'd give it to Wacha just based on the numbers.
On the Royals side, we've got Bobby Witt Jr., Freddy Fermin, and Vinnie Pasquantino dishing out some impressive regular season batting averages. On the other hand, we don't have slouches on the Cards. Brendan Donovan, Nolan Arenado, Alec Burleson, and Paul Goldschmidt, they're good, but let's see if they can muscle past the Royals' dynamic batting trio today.
Reflecting on earlier matchups, it looks like a game of pong with each team seizing wins on their turns. It's neck and neck with previous victories. The Royals stand at 49-43, just a whisker ahead of the Cardinals at 48-42. So, if you base it on past match-ups, then it's a coin flip.
The Royals' recent games have brought a mixed bag, while the Cardinals have found a rhythm, netting themselves a pretty winning streak. Now, I don't hold a crystal ball, and I don't want us coming to blows over this, but...
Albert’s Prediction: Kansas City Royals by 1