Royals vs Cardinals Prediction 5/17/25 MLB Picks Today

The St. Louis Cardinals and Kansas City Royals meet Saturday in MLB action at Kauffman Stadium. Here’s a Royals vs Cardinals Prediction. This article will include a Royals vs Cardinals Pick.

St. Louis Cardinals Betting Preview

The St. Louis Cardinals are 25-20 on the year and play the Tigers, Diamondbacks, and Orioles next. The St. Louis Cardinals are batting .264 on the season, have a .338 OBP, and a .408 slugging percentage. The St. Louis Cardinals’ pitching staff has a 3.83 ERA and a 1.23 WHIP. Brendan Donovan leads the St. Louis Cardinals with 54 hits and 21 RBI, while Lars Nootbaar and Willson Contreras have combined for 88 hits and 50 RBI.

Miles Mikolas gets the ball for the St. Louis Cardinals, and he is 2-2 with a 4.35 ERA and 23 strikeouts this season. Mikolas is 2-0 with a 2.14 ERA and 22 strikeouts in his career against the Kansas City Royals.

Kansas City Royals Betting Preview

The Kansas City Royals are 25-21 on the year and play the Giants, Twins, and Reds next. The Kansas City Royals are batting .242 on the season, have a .299 OBP, and a .363 slugging percentage. The Kansas City Royals pitching staff has a 3.16 ERA and a 1.19 WHIP. Bobby Witt Jr. leads the Kansas City Royals with 56 hits and 25 RBI, while Maikel Garcia and Vinnie Pasquantino have combined for 87 hits and 45 RBI.

Seth Lugo gets the ball for the Kansas City Royals, and he is 3-4 with a 3.02 ERA and 42 strikeouts this season. Lugo is 2-0 with a 3.14 ERA and 30 strikeouts in his career against the St. Louis Cardinals.

Why the Kansas City Royals will win

• The Cardinals have lost six of their last seven night games against AL Central opponents following a road win.
• The Royals have won six of their last seven games following a home loss.
• The Cardinals have failed to cover the run line in six of their last seven night games against American League opponents following a road win.
• The Royals have covered the run line in five of their last six games against the Cardinals following a loss.
• The Cardinals have trailed after 3 innings in three of their last four games against American League opponents that held a winning record.
• The Cardinals have trailed after 5 innings in four of their last five road games against American League opponents.

Why the St. Louis Cardinals will win

• The Cardinals have won each of their last six games as underdogs against AL Central opponents.
• The Royals have lost each of their last five games as home favorites against National League opponents following a loss.
• The Cardinals have covered the run line in each of their last 12 games.
• The Royals have failed to cover the run line in eight of their last nine home games against National League opponents after playing the previous day.
• The Royals have trailed after 3 innings in four of their last five home games against National League opponents that held a winning record.
• The Royals have trailed after 5 innings in each of their last six Saturday games as home favorites.

Kansas City Royals Player Prop Facts

• Salvador Perez has hit a home run in three of the Royals’ last five games against the Cardinals.
• Maikel Garcia has recorded a Double in four of the Royals’ last five games as favorites against NL Central opponents.
• Kyle Isbel has scored at least one run in each of his last six appearances against the Cardinals.
• Salvador Perez has recorded at least one RBI in each of his last six appearances against NL Central opponents that held a winning record.
• Jonathan India has recorded at least one Single in 10 of his last 11 home appearances against the Cardinals after playing the previous day.
• Kyle Isbel has recorded at least one hit in each of his last 11 appearances with the Royals as home favorites.
• Bobby Witt Jr. ranks T2nd in the league in Steals (16) this season.

St. Louis Cardinals Player Prop Facts

• Miles Mikolas has recorded three or more strikeouts in each of his last eight appearances against AL Central opponents.
• Alec Burleson has recorded at least one RBI in each of his last four appearances in night games.
• Brendan Donovan has recorded at least one Single in nine of the Cardinals’ last 10 games as underdogs against AL opponents.
• Brendan Donovan has recorded at least one hit in each of the Cardinals’ last 10 games as underdogs against AL opponents.
• Alec Burleson has hit a home run in three of his last four appearances in night games.
• Brendan Donovan has recorded a Double in each of the Cardinals’ last four games against the Royals.
• Masyn Winn has scored at least one run in each of his last six appearances against AL opponents.

Royals vs Cardinals Prediction

The Royals can’t string together an offense this week and have lost five of their last six games. So while Lugo has been great this season with a 3.02 ERA and 1.09 WHIP, it doesn’t matter if the Royals can’t score. The Cardinals have lost just one game since May 3 and are on fire offensively, which includes 24 runs in their last two games. Mikolas has been up and down this season, but he’s an all-star caliber pitcher who is capable of putting tougher a gem, as he shut out the Reds and Braves in two of his last four starts. We’ve backed the Cardinals a lot during this winning stretch, and we should continue as long as we keep getting plus money. Give me the Cards.