St. Louis Cardinals vs Kansas City Royals Prediction, 5/18/2025 MLB Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: St. Louis Cardinals vs Kansas City Royals

Date: Sunday, May 18, 2025

Location: Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, MO

TV: FanDuel Sports Network Kansas City

Odds/Point Spread: St. Louis (+110) Kansas City (-132)

The St. Louis Cardinals (24-20) are on their way to Kauffman Stadium on Sunday where they will play the Kansas City Royals (25-20). The line on this contest has the Cardinals at +110 and the Royals are sitting at -132. The over/under comes in at 9. The men taking the mound are Matthew Liberatore and Michael Wacha.

As a unit, the St. Louis Cardinals are recording 4.8 runs/g, which is 7th in MLB. They have accounted for 212 runs scored while having a team on-base percentage of .338. The Cardinals have compiled 85 doubles as a team and have hit 43 baseballs out of the stadium. They have accrued 200 runs batted in and 394 base knocks so far this year, and their team batting average is .262. St. Louis has a slugging rate of .406 and have been called out on strikes 340 times, while taking a walk on 159 occasions.

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They have accumulated a K/BB ratio of 2.36 and their pitching staff has a collective WHIP of 1.24. Cardinals pitchers have conceded 34 long balls and 181 runs in total (12th in baseball). St. Louis has conceded 350 base knocks (8.1 per 9 innings) as well as 167 earned runs. The Cardinals are sitting with a team ERA of 3.85 on the year (13th in the league), and their staff has rung up 314 hitters. They have walked 133 hitters and their FIP comes in at 3.73 as a unit for the season.

The Cardinals have sent 134 relievers to the hill this year. The bullpen pitchers have inherited 58 runners on the campaign and 36.2% of those players ended up crossing the plate. They have 11 saves so far this season and have blown 7 out of their 18 save opportunities. The Cardinals relief pitchers have a save percentage of 61.1% and have come into the game in 51 save situations. The bullpen have a total of 32 holds this year (6th in baseball). Cardinals relief pitchers have gone to the mound with opponents on base 44 times and also have had 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, ranking them 8th in MLB. The St. Louis Cardinals have earned a total of 1,172 putouts thus far, as well as 439 assists and 16 errors. Their fielding rate sits at .990 which has them ranked 3rd in the majors, and have accumulated 31 double plays.

Liberatore (11-15 career mark) holds a FIP of 4.55 and he has gone up against 978 opposing hitters in the major leagues. He has allowed 229 base hits (9.0 hits per 9 innings) and has had 78 walks. His ERA is 4.61 (117 ER's allowed) and his career WHIP is 1.345. Liberatore has taken the hill for 228 innings and has 192 strikeouts during his pro baseball career.

The Royals have a SLG% of .360 and they earn 3.42 runs per outing (27th in baseball). They have notched 75 two-baggers, while taking a walk 117 times and scoring 154 runs. Kansas City has accounted for 29 home runs over the course of the season as well as 153 RBIs. They have been rung up on 316 occasions (29th in baseball) and have 363 base hits. The Kansas City Royals have accumulated an on-base percentage of .300 as well as a team batting average of .242 for the year.

The Kansas City pitching staff have allowed 148 runs so far this year while having a team ERA of 3.03 (135 earned runs allowed). They have allowed 40 home runs and they give up 3.32 runs per 9 innings (2nd in the league). The Royals have a WHIP of 1.179 and have a FIP of 3.58 as a squad for the season. They have earned a strikeout to walk ratio of 8.20 (367 strikeouts against 126 bases on balls). They rank 14th in baseball as a pitching staff in total hits surrendered with 347.

Kansas City relief pitchers have an inherited score percentage of 29.8% out of 47 inherited runners. Their relief pitchers have stepped onto the hill 46 times in high leverage situations and on 37 occasions with runners on base. Sitting with 43 save situations, the Royals have earned 25 holds in addition to 4 blown saves. They are ranked 3rd in the league with a save rate of 77.8%, and they have sent 136 relievers to the hill this season. Kansas City has had relief pitchers enter the game in 18 save opportunities and they have tallied 14 saves.

The Kansas City Royals have turned 40 double plays and have earned a fielding percentage of .990 (2nd in pro baseball). The Royals have accrued 413 assists, 16 errors and have accumulated 1,204 putouts on the season. Out of their 3,612 innings played, the Royals have a defensive efficiency of 71.2% (10th in professional baseball).

Wacha (104-66 career mark) has earned a 3.86 ERA and has allowed 8.7 hits per 9 innings. He has a K/BB ratio of 2.80 and he has gone up against 6,343 batters in his MLB career. He has given up a total of 646 ER's while holding a WHIP of 1.279 and being the owner of a FIP of 3.8. In his MLB career, Wacha has given up 1,451 base knocks while tallying 1,327 K's in 1,505 innings.

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Kansas City (-132)

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