Cardinals vs Royals Picks and Prediction – 5/16/2025

The St Louis Cardinals open a three-game series on the road Friday versus the Kansas City Royals. St Louis improved to 24-20 following its 14-7 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies on Wednesday in the second game of a doubleheader. The Cardinals lost the first game of the twin-bill 2-1. St Louis is second in the National League Central, one game behind the first-place Chicago Cubs. Keep up to date with all the MLB action with our expert MLB picks.

Brendan Donovan is batting .313 with 51 hits and an on-base percentage of .376 to lead St Louis in the three categories. Lars Nootbaar is the leader in home runs with seven, and Willson Contreras is the leader in RBI with 25. On Friday, the St Louis Cardinals will send Andre Pallante to the mound. The right-hander is 3-2 with a 4.36 ERA, 28 Ks, and 16 BBs.

The Kansas City Royals dropped to 25-20 following Wednesday’s 4-3 loss to the Houston Astros. Kansas City lost two out of three to Houston in their just-completed series. Kansas City is 26th in runs scored, averaging just 3.42 runs per game. The Royals have lost four of the last five and are third in the American League Central, 4 ½ games behind the first-place Detroit Tigers. 

Bobby Witt Jr is batting .312 with 25 RBI, 54 hits, and an on-base percentage of .384 to lead Kansas City in the four categories. Vinnie Pasquantino is the leader in home runs with six. Kansas City has a .242 batting average and a .360 slugging percentage. On Friday, Kansas City will send Cole Ragans to the mound. The lefthander is 2-2 with a 4.20 ERA, 65 Ks, and 13 BBs.

St Louis will win on the road Friday when visiting Kansas City, but the play here is OVER. The OVER has cashed in five of the last six that St Louis has played on the road versus Kansas City. St Louis starter Andre Pallante has been hit hard in five consecutive outings, allowing 17 runs across 27 innings. Kansas City starter Cole Ragans was hit hard last time out, allowing four runs on seven hits across five innings, and has been hit hard in three of the last four starts. Final Score Prediction: St. Louis Cardinals win but our best play is OVER 7-6.