St. Louis Cardinals vs Kansas City Royals Prediction 5/17/26 MLB Picks Today

The Kansas City Royals and the St. Louis Cardinals meet Saturday in MLB action from Busch Stadium. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best bets for this game. Here’s a Kansas City Royals vs. St. Louis Cardinals prediction.

Starting Pitching Matchup

The Kansas City Royals will send out. Stephen Kolek here and Kolek is 1-0 with a 6.75 ERA and 9 strikeouts this season. This will be Kolek’s second career start against the Cardinals. Andre Pallante will start here for St. Louis and is 4-3 with a 4.46 ERA and 33 strikeouts this season. In his career, Pallante is 1-1 with a 5.40 ERA and 15 strikeouts against the Royals.

Kansas City Royals Recap

The Kansas City Royals come into this game looking to bounce back from their 4-2 loss at the hands of the Cardinals on Saturday to sit at 19-27 this season. After this series, the Royals will head home for a game against the Red Sox.

Royals Lose 6 In A Row

Kyle Isbel has 30 hits with 3 home runs and 10 RBIs. Jac Caglianone has 33 hits with 7 doubles, 5 home runs, 9 RBIs and a triple while Bobby Witt Jr. has 56 hits with 12 doubles, 7 home runs and 23 RBIs and Vinnie Pasquantino’s added 33 hits with 4 doubles, 2 triples, 5 home runs and 22 RBIs on the year. Maikel Garcia also has 46 hits with 13 doubles, 3 home runs and 18 RBIs this season. Carter Jensen’s also chipped in 6 home runs and 19 RBIs this season.

St. Louis Cardinals Recap

The St. Louis Cardinals come into this game looking to add on to their win over the Royals from Saturday to improve to 27-18 on the year. After this series, the Cardinals will take on the Pittsburgh Pirates in a series at home.

Cardinals Win Back-To-Back Games

Jordan Walker leads the Cardinals with 52 hits, 10 doubles, 13 home runs and 34 RBIs while Alec Burleson has 8 hits with 11 doubles, 6 home runs and 33 RBIs. JJ Wetherholt has 40 hits with 8 home runs and 22 RBIs while Ivan Herrera has 44 hits with 12 doubles, 4 home runs and 20 RBIs. Nolan Gorman has 34 hits with 5 home runs and 23 RBIs this season. Masyn Winn’s added 38 hits with 8 doubles and 17 RBIs and Nathan Church has 34 hits with 5 home runs and 18 RBIs this season.

Kansas City Royals @ St. Louis Cardinals Betting Trends: May 17, 2026

• Probable Starting Pitcher: Andre Pallante      Record this season: 4-3      ERA: 4.46
• Home Record: 1-3
• Last 5 against Royals: 1-1

Why the St. Louis Cardinals will win

• The Royals have lost each of their last eight day games against teams that held a winning record.
• The home team has won seven of the Royals’ last eight games.
• The Royals have failed to cover the run line in each of their last eight day games following a loss.
• The Cardinals have covered the run line in seven of their last eight games against American League opponents that held a losing record.
• The Royals have lost the first inning in five of their last six day games against National League opponents.
• The Royals have trailed after 5 innings in each of their last nine road games against opponents that held a winning record.
• The Royals have trailed after 3 innings in each of their last nine day games.

• Probable Starting Pitcher: Stephen Kolek      Record this season: 1-0      ERA: 6.75
• Road Record: 0-0
• Last 5 against Cardinals: 1-0

Why the Kansas City Royals will win

• The underdogs have won each of the Royals’ last six games.
• The Cardinals have lost each of their last four games as favorites against the Royals following a win.
• The Royals have covered the run line in each of their last nine games as underdogs against the Cardinals.
• The Cardinals have failed to cover the run line in 13 of their last 14 games as favorites following a home win.
• The Cardinals have lost the first inning in each of their last three games as home favorites against AL Central opponents.
• The Cardinals have trailed after 5 innings in seven of their last eight games as home favorites against American League opponents.

Total Runs Facts

• Seven of the Cardinals’ last eight games after playing the previous day have gone UNDER the total runs line.
• Five of the Royals’ last six games have gone OVER the total runs line.
• The ‘Inning 1 OVER 0.5 runs’ market has hit in each of the Royals’ last six day games against NL Central opponents.
• The ‘Inning 1 OVER 0.5 runs’ market has hit in seven of the Cardinals’ last eight home games against AL Central opponents.

St. Louis Cardinals Player Prop Facts

• Alec Burleson has hit a home run in two of the Cardinals’ last three games as favorites against the Royals.
• Alec Burleson has recorded two or more hits in each of his last six appearances with the Cardinals as favorites against AL opponents.
• Jordan Walker ranks T8th in the league in Home Runs (13) this season.

Kansas City Royals Player Prop Facts

• Salvador Perez has hit at least one home run in six of the Royals’ last 10 games as road underdogs against NL opponents.
• Vinnie Pasquantino has recorded at least one hit in each of the Royals’ last eight day games against NL opponents that held a winning record.
• Bobby Witt Jr. ranks T3rd in the league in Hits (56) this season.

Matchup/League Facts

• The Cardinals rank 30th in the league for strikeouts this season (321).
• The Cardinals rank T28th in the league for triples this season (2).
• The Royals rank 27th in the league for walks allowed this season (197).
• The Royals rank 24th in the league for ERA this season (4.38).

Kansas City Royals vs. St. Louis Cardinals Prediction

I’m on the Cardinals here. I just think that the Cardinals are in much better form right now and it’s hard to step in front of them with a coin flip pitching matchup because the bats for St. Louis have been so much hotter up to this point. I also trust St. Louis’ bullpen far more in this matchup and in the end I think St. Louis gets it done here. Give me the Cardinals.