Cardinals vs Royals Picks and Prediction – 5/17/2025

The St Louis Cardinals will play the second game of a three-game series on the road Saturday versus the Kansas City Royals. St Louis improved to 24-20 following its 14-7 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies on Wednesday, after 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 Saturday, St. Louis will send Miles Mikolas to the mound. The right-hander is 2-2 with a 4.35 ERA, 23 Ks, and 13 BBs.

The Kansas City Royals are 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. The Royals were off on Thursday. 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 Saturday, Kansas City will send Seth Lugo to the mound. The right-hander is 3-4 with a 3.02 ERA, 42 Ks, and 15 BBs.

St Louis has won 10 of its last 11, and the Cardinals have won five of the last six played on the road. St Louis starter Miles Mikolas is coming off a strong outing in which the right-hander allowed one run on four hits across 5.1 innings. Kansas City starter Seth Lugo is coming off a poor outing in which the right-hander allowed three runs on six hits across six innings. Final Score Prediction: St. Louis Cardinals win 6-2.