Kansas City Royals vs St. Louis Cardinals Prediction, 6/5/2025 MLB Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Kansas City Royals vs St. Louis Cardinals

Date: Thursday, June 5, 2025

Location: Busch Stadium in St. Louis, MO

TV: FanDuel Sports Network Midwest

Odds/Point Spread: Kansas City (+150) St. Louis (-182)

The St. Louis Cardinals (33-27) are hosting the Kansas City Royals (32-29) at Busch Stadium on Thursday. The odds on this game have Kansas City at +150 and St. Louis is coming in at -182. The total is 8. The pitchers taking the mound are Cole Ragans and Matthew Liberatore.

Kansas City has a slugging % of .362 and have been called out on strikes 424 times, while drawing a walk on 144 occasions. They have 201 runs batted in in addition to 507 base knocks so far this season, while their batting average is sitting at .248. The Royals have tallied 101 doubles as a squad and have knocked 36 balls out of the park. They have accounted for 204 runs scored while having a team on-base percentage of .302. As a unit, the Kansas City Royals are earning 3.3 runs per game, which puts them at 28th in the league.

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They have accrued a K/BB ratio of 2.90 and their pitching staff holds a collective WHIP of 1.19. Royals pitchers have surrendered 58 home runs and 208 total runs (3rd in the league). Kansas City has given up 477 base knocks (7.9 per 9 innings) as well as 193 earned runs. The Royals hold a team ERA of 3.19 over the course of the season (4th in baseball), and they have rung up 496 hitters. Their pitching staff has walked 171 opposing players and their FIP sits at 3.66 as a unit so far this year.

The Royals have sent 194 relievers to the mound so far this season. The relief pitchers have inherited 81 runners over the course of the season with 24.7% of those players earned a run for their team. They have recorded 20 saves over the course of the season and have missed out on 4 out of their 24 save opportunities. The Royals relief pitchers have a save rate of 83.3% and have entered the game in 56 save situations. The relief pitchers have a total of 32 holds for the season (20th in the league). Royals relief pitchers have gone to the mound with runners on base 60 times and also have had 70 appearances in high leverage situations.

The Royals have converted 71.0% of balls hit into play into outs out of 4,899 innings on the field, which has them sitting at 9th in professional baseball. The Houston Astros have 1,633 putouts thus far, in addition to 552 assists and 26 errors. Their fielding percentage is at .988 which is 8th in pro baseball, and they have turned 54 double plays.

Ragans has taken the mound for 367 innings and has accounted for 435 K's during his MLB career. His ERA is 3.60 (147 earned runs allowed) and his career WHIP is 1.192. He has given up 301 base knocks (7.4 hits per nine innings) and has 137 free passes. Ragans (20-20 record in his career) is the owner of a FIP of 3.55 while going up against 1,519 hitters during his time in the majors.

The Cardinals have a SLG% of .397 and they score 4.67 runs per outing (7th in the league). They have tallied 112 doubles, while walking 197 times and earning 280 runs. St. Louis has a total of 54 home runs on the campaign as well as 265 RBIs. They have been rung up on 465 occasions (25th in the league) and have totaled 527 base knocks. The St. Louis Cardinals have earned a team OBP of .329 in addition to a batting average of .259 over the course of the season.

The Cardinals have a team WHIP of 1.249 with a FIP of 3.65 as a staff so far this year. They have earned a K/BB ratio of 7.30 (431 strikeouts vs 167 free passes). They are currently ranked 18th in MLB as a pitching staff in total hits allowed with 495. They have relinquished 47 long balls and they give up 4.29 runs per 9 innings (15th in the league). The St. Louis pitching staff have given up 253 runs so far this season and come in with a team ERA of 3.89 (229 earned runs given up).

With 69 save situations, the Cardinals have recorded 41 holds and 8 blown saves. St. Louis has had bullpen pitchers step onto the hill in 25 save chances and they have come away with 17 saves. Their bullpen pitchers have taken the field 72 times in high leverage situations and on 56 occasions with runners on. St. Louis relievers have an inherited score rate of 40.3% of 77 inherited runners. They are ranked 8th in MLB with a save percentage of 68.0%, and they have dispatched 180 bullpen pitchers onto the field for the season.

The St. Louis Cardinals have turned 40 double plays and have accounted for a fielding rate of .989 (2nd in the majors). The Cardinals have accrued 580 assists, 24 errors and have accounted for 1,592 putouts on the season. Out of their 4,776 innings played, the Cardinals have earned a efficiency on defense of 70.4% (14th in MLB).

So far in his career, Liberatore has allowed 248 hits while he has accumulated 206 punch outs in 246 frames. Liberatore (11-16 mark in his career) has earned a 4.50 ERA while giving up 9.1 hits per nine innings. He has given up 123 ER's while earning a WHIP of 1.332 and a FIP of 4.4. He has a K/BB ratio of 2.58 and he has gone up against 1,054 batters in his MLB career.

Who will win tonight's MLB game against the spread or moneyline?

Parlay's Pundit's Pick: Take St. Louis (-182) and under 8 runs

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