The Kansas City Royals host the St. Louis Cardinals on May 17, 2025. First pitch from Kauffman Stadium is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. EDT; the game will be broadcast on FDSKC.
Read my Cardinals vs Royals predictions and picks below.
[quickslipbasic bookname=”Fanatics” booklogo=”https://assets.actionnetwork.com/573837_FanaticsSportsbook20ALT.png” image=”https://images.actionnetwork.com/blog/2025/05/IMG_1030.jpg” buttontext=”Click To Bet The Under!” buttonlink=”https://www.scoresandodds.com/all/parlay?quickslip=1&onelink=/5kut/sxfe1gb9?sharedBy=QS_0105&ref=10001″][/quickslipbasic]
[subheader sizedown=”false” text=”My Cardinals vs Royals Prediction” center=”true” logo1url=”https://static.sprtactn.co/teamlogos/mlb/100/stl.png” link1=”https://www.actionnetwork.com/mlb/odds/st.-louis-cardinals” link1follow=”true” logo2url=”https://static.sprtactn.co/teamlogos/mlb/100/kcd.png” link2=”https://www.actionnetwork.com/mlb/odds/kansas-city-royals” link2follow=”true”][/subheader]
- Cardinals vs Royals Picks: Under 8.5 (+100, Fanatics)
My Cardinals vs Royals best bet is on the Under. Check our live MLB odds page to find the best odds.
_InlineAdBlock
St. Louis Cardinals vs Kansas City Royals Odds
[gamematchup league=”mlb” awaylogo=”https://static.sprtactn.co/teamlogos/mlb/100/stl.png” awayname=”Cardinals” awayslug=”st.-louis-cardinals” homelogo=”https://static.sprtactn.co/teamlogos/mlb/100/kcd.png” homename=”Royals” homeslug=”kansas-city-royals” date=”Saturday, May 17″ time=”7:10 p.m. ET” network=”FDSKC” col1text=”Spread” col2text=”Total” col3text=”Moneyline” col1awaytext=”-1.5″ col1awayline=”+162″ col1hometext=”+1.5″ col1homeline=”-196″ col2awaytext=”8.5″ col2hometext=”8.5″ col2awayline=”-122o / -100u” col2homeline=”-122o / -100u” col3awaytext=”+102″ col3hometext=”-120″ col3awayline=”” col3homeline=”” bookname=”FanDuel” bookthumbnaillogo=”https://assets.actionnetwork.com/392973_FanDuel.png” bookreviewslug=”fanduel”][/gamematchup]
Cardinals vs Royals Moneyline: Cardinals +102, Royals -120
Cardinals vs Royals Total: 8.5 (-122o/-100u)
Cardinals vs Royals Spread: Cardinals -1.5 (+162), Royals +1.5 (-196)
Cardinals vs Royals Best Bet: Under 8.5
Tanner McGrath’s Cardinals vs Royals Preview
The Royals have been struggling at the plate this season.
They rank 27th among MLB lineups in wRC+ (82). Bobby Witt Jr. is playing at his typical level (149 wRC+). Still, Jonathan India can’t get anything going out of the leadoff spot (88 wRC+), Vinnie Pasquantino and Salvador Perez are showing flashes of power but can’t get on base (combined .264 OBP), and the bottom of the lineup is a mess.
I’ve never been the biggest fan of Cardinals starting pitcher Miles Mikolas, but he’s a two-to-three fWAR pitcher who should be able to hold his own against Kansas City’s downtrodden lineup.
The Royals haven’t announced a starting pitcher yet, and the Cardinals have been white-hot at the plate (127 wRC+ over the past two weeks).
However, I’m still on the Under, for three reasons.
First, I don’t mind either bullpen. The Royals and Cardinals rank among the league’s top half in reliever fWAR. These are also two above-average defensive teams, especially St. Louis, which ranks sixth among MLB teams in Defensive Runs Saved (+22).
Second, the weather should be relatively pitcher-friendly, with RotoGrinders’ Weather Tool projecting a -3.2% Total Runs Factor behind a -5.5% Home Run factor.
Third, and most importantly, this game has lit up one of our PRO betting systems, Contrarian Unders for Winning Teams.
In regular-season MLB games between two winning teams when the public is heavily favoring the Over (over 65% of the bets), Unders are 1749-1534-149 since 2005, hitting at a 53.3% rate and producing a 3.9% ROI.
[betlabsembed systemid=”1471537″ systemname=”PRO: Contrarian Unders for Winning Teams” leaguename=”mlb” filters=”%7B%22list%22%3A%5B%22betting%20on%20the%20Under%22%2C%22the%20home%20team’s%20win%20percentage%20is%20between%2051%25%20and%20100%25%22%2C%22the%20visitor%20team’s%20win%20percentage%20is%20between%2051%25%20and%20100%25%22%2C%22the%20over%2Funder%20%25%20is%20between%200%25%20and%2035%25%22%2C%22the%20game%20is%20played%20during%20the%20Regular%20season%22%5D%7D” amountwon=”$13,533″ record=”1749-1534-149″ winpct=”53%”][/betlabsembed]
Royals games are 29-16-1 to the Under this season. I’ll bank on more of the same for Saturday’s matchup.
Pick: Under 8.5 (+100, Fanatics)
Cardinals vs Royals Betting Trends
[bettingtrends title=”” gameid=”253809″ date=”20250517″][/bettingtrends]
[subheader sizedown=”true” text=”Cardinals vs Royals Weather” center=”false”][/subheader]
[gameforecast league=”mlb” gameid=”253809″ date=”20250517″][/gameforecast]