St. Louis Cardinals vs Kansas City Royals Prediction, 5/17/2025 MLB Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: St. Louis Cardinals vs Kansas City Royals

Date: Saturday, May 17, 2025

Location: Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, MO

TV: FanDuel Sports Network Kansas City

Odds/Point Spread: St. Louis (+125) Kansas City (-145)

Kauffman Stadium is the location where the Kansas City Royals (25-20) will try to beat the St. Louis Cardinals (24-20) on Saturday. The moneyline on this contest has the Cardinals at +125 while the Royals are sitting at -145. The over/under comes in at 8.5. The men taking the mound will be Miles Mikolas and Seth Lugo.

As a unit, the St. Louis Cardinals are notching 4.8 runs per outing, which puts them at 7th in MLB. They have accumulated 212 runs scored while holding a team on-base percentage of .338. The Cardinals have hit 85 doubles as a team and have smacked 43 balls out of the park. They have earned 200 runs batted in in addition to 394 hits over the course of the season, and their team batting average comes in at .262. St. Louis is slugging .406 and have been rung up 340 times, while taking a walk on 159 occasions.

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The Cardinals are sitting with a team earned run average of 3.85 for the year (12th in the league), and the staff has rung up 314 hitters. Cardinals pitchers have conceded 34 home runs in addition to 181 runs in total (13th in MLB). Their pitching staff has walked 133 opposing batters and their FIP is 3.74 as a unit this year. St. Louis has conceded 350 base knocks (8.1 per 9 innings) in addition to 167 earned runs. They have a K/BB ratio of 2.36 and their pitching staff holds a collective WHIP of 1.24.

The Cardinals have sent 134 relief pitchers to the mound so far this season. The relief pitchers have inherited 58 base runners so far this season and 36.2% of them crossed home plate. They have earned 11 saves this season and have not converted 7 of their 18 save chances. The Cardinals relief pitchers have earned a save rate of 61.1% and have come into the game in 51 save situations. The bullpen have accumulated 32 holds on the campaign (6th in the league). Cardinals bullpen pitchers have entered the game with runners on base 44 times in addition to having 58 appearances in high leverage situations.

The Cardinals have turned 71.4% of balls hit into play into outs in their 3,516 innings on the diamond, which ranks them 8th in the majors. The St. Louis Cardinals have earned 1,172 putouts on the campaign, in addition to 439 assists and 16 errors. Their fielding rate is currently at .990 which is 3rd in MLB, and they have turned 31 double plays.

Mikolas has thrown 1,135 frames and is sitting with 818 strikeouts in his MLB career. His ERA is 4.16 (525 ER's allowed) and his WHIP is 1.205. He has allowed 1,146 base knocks (9.1 hits per nine innings) and has 222 free passes. Mikolas (66-66 career record) is the owner of a FIP of 4.10 while he has gone up against 4,717 opposing batters during his time in the majors.

The Kansas City Royals have recorded an on-base percentage of .300 and a team batting average of .242 on the year. They have been rung up on 316 occasions (28th in baseball) and have recorded 363 hits. Kansas City has compiled 29 long balls this year to go along with 153 runs batted in. The Royals hold a team slugging % of .360 and they are scoring 3.42 runs per contest (28th in the league). They have hit 75 doubles, while getting a free base 117 times as well as putting up 154 runs.

The Royals have a team WHIP of 1.179 and are the owners of a FIP of 3.59 as a squad so far this year. They have earned a strikeout to walk ratio of 8.20 (367 strikeouts against 126 walks). They are currently ranked 16th in the league as a pitching staff in total hits allowed with 347. They have surrendered 40 long balls and they allow 3.32 runs per 9 innings (2nd in baseball). The Kansas City pitching staff have conceded 148 runs over the course of the season while holding a team ERA of 3.03 (135 earned runs surrendered).

Kansas City bullpen pitchers hold an inherited score percentage of 29.8% out of their 47 inherited base runners. Their relief pitchers have stepped onto the mound 46 times in high leverage situations and also on 37 occasions with base runners. With 43 save situations, the Royals have earned 25 holds and also 4 blown saves. They rank 3rd in baseball holding a save percentage of 77.8%, and they have dispatched 136 relief pitchers to the mound for the year. Kansas City has called on relievers to take the mound in 18 save opportunities and they have walked away with 14 saves.

Out of their 3,612 innings played, the Royals have accumulated a defensive efficiency of 71.2% (10th in MLB). The Kansas City Royals have gotten 40 double plays and have a fielding rate of .990 (2nd in MLB). The Royals have recorded 413 assists, 16 errors and have a tally of 1,204 putouts so far this season.

During his career, Lugo has conceded 803 hits while he has accumulated 871 K's in 903 frames. Lugo (59-44 career record) has earned a 3.36 earned run average and has conceded 8.0 hits per nine innings. He has surrendered 337 ER's while holding a WHIP of 1.150 and a FIP of 3.3. He has a K/BB ratio of 3.69 and he has gone up against 3,709 opposing hitters thus far in his career.

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Kansas City (-145)

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