Cardinals vs Royals Prediction and Odds for Tuesday, May 3 (Excellent Pitching Matchup Gives Multiple Bets Value)

After getting shut out for the second time in three games, the 7-14 Kansas City Royals are desperate for some runs as they take on the 13-9 St. Louis Cardinals tonight at 8:10 PM EST.

The Royals are dead last in MLB in runs per game, averaging a paltry three per contest. They'll send Brad Keller to the mound today, who has been just as good as Kansas City's offense has been bad. He has a quality start in three of his four outings this season and carries a pristine 2.19 ERA into today's affair.

Dakota Hudson gets the call for St. Louis and he's been marvelous over his last two starts, allowing only three hits and no runs in 12.1 innings.

Can Hudson continue his strong performance to give the Cardinals another victory or will Keller stop the Royals' four-game losing streak?

To answer those questions, let's take a peak at the odds from our friends at WynnBET Sportsbook:

Cardinals vs Royals Odds, Run Line and Total

Run Line:

• Cardinals -1.5 (+150)
• Royals +1.5 (-180)

Moneyline:

• Cardinals: -110
• Royals: +100

Total:

• 7.5 (Over +100/Under -120)

Cardinals vs Royals Prediction and Pick

Another day, another Royals under. The under is 10-5-1 in Kansas City's last 16 contests and 3-0-1 when Keller pitches. He's been sensational this year and the Royals have perhaps the worst offense in the sport, so it's been a beautiful marriage for run prevention.

Keller has gone six or more innings in three of his four starts, so we don't even have to risk relying on Kansas City's bullpen that has the worst ERA in the American League.

Not to be outdone, St. Louis righty Dakota Hudson has rebounded from a poor couple of starts to open the season to turn into some kind of pitching cyborg. He's allowed just three hits and no runs in 12.1 innings over his previous two outings and Kansas City has shown no reason to believe they'll score on him today.

Frankly, I think this line should be closer to 6.5 than 7.5 and I'm overjoyed at the value oddsmakers are giving us. The Cardinals have the sixth-best bullpen ERA in the MLB, so even if Hudson struggles the St. Louis relievers should mitigate any damage.

I'm feeling frisky today, so I'm taking both the full game under and the No Run First Inning (NRFI) at -135. Keller is an NRFI machine and Hudson is suddenly Greg Maddox. Let's take advantage of these inflated totals and laugh at these pitiful offenses right to the bank.

Pick: Under 7.5 (-120) and Under 0.5 First Inning Runs (-135)

Follow all of Joe Summers' betting picks here.