Kansas City Royals vs St. Louis Cardinals Prediction, 5/16/2026 MLB Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Kansas City Royals vs St. Louis Cardinals

Date: Saturday, May 16, 2026

Location: Busch Stadium in St. Louis, MO

TV: Cardinals.TV

Odds/Point Spread: Kansas City (-160) St. Louis (+132)

Busch Stadium is the site where the St. Louis Cardinals (25-18) will take on the Kansas City Royals (19-25) on Saturday. The moneyline on this contest has Kansas City at -160 while St. Louis is sitting at +132. The total is 8.5. The pitchers taking the mound will be Noah Cameron and Kyle Leahy.

The Royals have hit 72 doubles as a team and have hit 44 baseballs out of the stadium. Kansas City has a slugging percentage of .389 and have been called out on strikes 360 times, while drawing a walk on 156 occasions. As a unit, the Kansas City Royals are scoring 4.1 runs per game, which puts them at 25th in baseball. They have earned 174 RBI's and 348 base knocks on the campaign, while their average at the plate comes in at .240. They have 181 runs while having a team OBP of .319.

Get all of our MLB Betting Picks

They have a K/BB ratio of 1.95 and their pitching staff has recorded a WHIP of 1.38. Royals pitchers have yielded 49 home runs and 201 runs in total (21st in the league). Kansas City has relinquished 344 base knocks (8.0 per 9 innings) in addition to 191 earned runs. The Royals hold a team earned run average of 4.43 for the year (22nd in MLB), and their staff has struck out 373 batters. Their pitching staff has walked 191 opposing hitters and their FIP is 4.37 as a unit on the year.

The Royals have sent 137 relief pitchers to the mound so far this year. The bullpen pitchers have inherited 34 runners so far this season with 26.5% of those runners ended up crossing the plate. The relief pitchers have accumulated 19 holds on the campaign (23rd in the league). Royals relief pitchers have stepped onto the hill with players on base 28 times as well as having 42 appearances in high leverage situations. They have recorded 13 saves so far this season and have not converted 7 of 20 chances to get a save. The Royals bullpen have accumulated a save percentage of 65.0% and have entered the game in 39 save situations.

The Kansas City Royals have earned a total of 1,165 putouts at this point in the season, in addition to 367 assists and 16 errors. Their fielding rate is holding steady at .990 which ranks 5th in pro baseball, and have earned 35 double plays. The Royals have transformed 70.7% of baseballs in play into outs out of 3,495 innings on the field, ranking them 12th in pro baseball.

Cameron has pitched in 173 innings and has totaled 146 strikeouts thus far in his career. Cameron (11-9 win-loss mark in his career) holds a FIP of 3.48 while he has faced 720 hitters in the majors. His earned run average is 3.53 (68 ER's allowed) and he has a career WHIP of 1.212. He has surrendered 153 base hits (7.9 hits per nine innings) and has 57 walks.

The Cardinals hold a team SLG% of .390 and they are scoring 4.63 runs per outing (9th in MLB). They have put up 66 doubles, while getting a free base 150 times and putting up 199 runs. St. Louis has 49 long balls so far this year as well as 193 runs batted in. They have been called out on strikes on 356 occasions (21st in the league) and have 347 base hits. The St. Louis Cardinals hold an on-base percentage of .321 and a team batting average of .240 over the course of the season.

The St. Louis pitching staff have given up 197 runs this season while holding a team ERA of 4.29 (184 earned runs relinquished). They have conceded 47 long balls and they give up 4.59 runs per 9 innings (19th in the league). The Cardinals have a team WHIP of 1.378 in addition to having a FIP of 4.49 as a staff over the course of the season. Their strikeout to walk ratio sits at 7.30 (312 strikeouts against 161 walks). They rank 22nd in baseball as a staff in total hits conceded with 371.

Sitting with 65 save situations, the Cardinals have accrued 39 holds in addition to 8 blown saves. St. Louis has had relief pitchers enter the game in 24 save chances and they have tallied 16 saves. St. Louis relief pitchers hold an inherited score percentage of 39.7% out of their 63 inherited base runners. Their relievers have come in 55 times in high leverage situations and on 43 occasions with runners on. They are ranked 12th in the league with a save percentage of 66.7%, and they have sent 154 bullpen pitchers to the mound so far this year.

The St. Louis Cardinals have gotten 44 double plays and have earned a fielding percentage of .988 (12th in professional baseball). The Cardinals have racked up 425 assists, 20 errors and have notched a total of 1,159 putouts this year. In 3,477 innings on the diamond, the Cardinals are sitting with a defensive efficiency of 70.0% (16th in the majors).

During his pro baseball career, Leahy has conceded 170 base knocks while he has accumulated 147 punch outs in 177 frames. He has allowed 75 ER's while holding a WHIP of 1.297 and a FIP of 3.8. His K/BB ratio is 2.45 and he has gone up against 749 batters in his pro baseball career. Leahy (9-7 career mark) has a 3.81 ERA and has surrendered 8.6 hits per 9 innings.

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take St. Louis (+132)

Get $60 worth of FREE premium member picks. No Obligation. No Salesman. No Credit Card. Fast Sign up with Instant Access Click Here

Get MLB picks on every single game, or if you want our very best bets by the experts, sign up for your free $60 account with a guarantee.