Royals vs. Cardinals Prediction and Odds for Tuesday, April 12 (Gassed Royals Bullpen Gives Cardinals Advantage)

The i-95 Series kicks off today when the 2-1 St. Louis Cardinals host the 2-2 Kansas City Royals at 7:45 PM EST.

Kansas City won their first two games of the year against the Guardians before dropping two in a row to split the series, while the Cardinals also won their first two though lost the series finale to Pittsburgh.

Dakota Hudson will pitch for St. Louis and has been impressive in his limited stints in the big leagues. He relies heavily on a sinker and limits hard contact.

The Royals will counter with Daniel Lynch, a former first-round pick that showed flashes last year but struggled with inconsistency.

Which team will bounce back and get the victory today? Let's utilize the odds from WynnBET to find some value in this Royals vs Cardinals matchup:

Royals vs Cardinals Odds, Run Line and Total

Run Line:

• Royals +1.5 (-140)
• Cardinals -1.5 (+115)

Moneyline:

• Royals: +145
• Cardinals: -157

Total:

• 9.0 (Over -110/Under -110)

Royals vs Cardinals Prediction and Pick

The beginning of Daniel Lynch's career went poorly. He surrendered 14 runs in 7.3 innings and was promptly sent back to the minors, but returned late in the season and actually looked good!

In a seven-start stretch from the end of July through the end of August, Lynch gave up three or fewer runs in every single start while amassing a 2.23 ERA over 40+ innings. That'll play!

If Lynch can tap back into that ability, the Royals could have something with the lanky lefty.

The Cardinals need a big day from Dakota Hudson, too. He threw only 47.2 innings over the last two seasons as he battled injuries, but St. Louis' bullpen is gassed after Miles Mikolas and Steven Matz only gave them 6.2 combined innings in their last two games.

Hudson has a ton of ability. When he's actually pitched, he's been fantastic. His only healthy year was 2019 and he finished with a 3.35 ERA over 174 innings. He may be a bit rusty in the early goings, but he'll be a weapon this year if he can avoid injury.

Kansas City scored three or fewer runs in three of their first four games, and their bullpen is gassed as well after surrendering 27 runs over the final two games against Cleveland. I like Lynch's talent a lot, but if he gets in trouble this could get out of hand quickly. Give me the Cardinals on the run line behind a strong start from Hudson.

Pick: Cardinals -1.5 (+115)

Follow all of Joe Summers' betting picks here.