St. Louis @ Kansas City preview

Last Meeting ( Jul 23, 2015 ) Kansas City 3, St. Louis 4

Despite competing in opposite leagues, the Kansas City Royals and St. Louis Cardinals have much more in common than meets the eye, including an identical record and some surprising pitching problems. The Royals put their major league-best home record on the line Monday as they open a four-game, home-and-home interleague set against one of the majors' top road clubs in the Cardinals in the latest edition of the I-70 Series.

Kansas City (39-35) had won 12 of 13 at Kauffman Stadium prior to dropping consecutive home games for the first time this season over the weekend, but it avoided a sweep against Houston with a 6-1 victory on Sunday to improve to 26-10 in its own ballpark. Ian Kennedy's seven strong innings were a breath of fresh air to a bullpen that had worked 11 more frames (29) than the starters (18) over the previous five games, although he was unable to prevent a Royals' opponent from homering for the 13th straight contest. Keeping the ball in the park will be a priority against St. Louis, which recorded 13 extra-base hits - including six home runs - in Sunday's 11-6 triumph that helped avoid a sweep in Seattle. The Cardinals, who boast the majors' second-best road record at 24-14, have their own pitching problems to deal with, however, as they removed Trevor Rosenthal from the closer's role after he went 0-2 with a 14.14 ERA over his first 11 appearances this month.
TV: 8:15 p.m. ET, FSN Midwest (St. Louis), FSN Kansas City

PITCHING MATCHUP: Cardinals RH Adam Wainwright (6-4, 4.73 ERA) vs. Royals LH Danny Duffy (2-1, 3.38)
Wainwright registered his first victory in June on Tuesday against the Chicago Cubs, permitting three runs on six hits and three walks over 6 2/3 innings to improve to 4-2 with a 5.74 ERA on the road. The three-time All-Star has posted a 2.36 ERA in four outings this month, however, and has worked at least six frames in each of his last seven turns - giving up three runs or fewer six times. Wainwright has fared well in 10 appearances (seven starts) versus the Royals, going 4-1 with a 3.07 ERA.
Duffy labored through one of his most inefficient outings and did not factor in the decision of Wednesday's loss to the New York Mets, as he needed a season-high 103 pitches to get through 4 2/3 innings. The 27-year-old, who has walked nine over his last three turns after going four straight without issuing a free pass, allowed three runs on four hits and four walks but struck out eight. Duffy yielded one hit over six scoreless frames in his last start versus the Cardinals in 2014 and has permitted two runs over 9 2/3 career innings against them.

WALK-OFFS
1. The Royals have surrendered a major league-high 46 home runs in June, five shy of the team record in any month.
2. St. Louis 2B/3B Matt Carpenter, who hit two of his team's homers on Sunday, has reached base safely in 18 straight games.
3. Kansas City rookie 2B Whit Merrifield has recorded 45 hits in his first 33 big-league games - the most since Yasiel Puig recorded 54 in his first 33 contests in 2012 with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

PREDICTION: Cardinals 6, Royals 4