Cardinals vs Royals Picks and Prediction – 5/18/2025

The St Louis Cardinals complete a three-game series on the road Sunday versus the Kansas City Royals. The Cardinals are 25-20 following a 10-3 victory over Kansas City in the opening game of the series. St Louis has won 11 of the last 12. 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 .321 with 54 hits and an on-base percentage of .382 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 26. On Sunday, the St Louis Cardinals will send Matthew Liberatore to the mound. The left-hander is 3-3 with a 3.11 ERA, 42 Ks, and 7 BBs.

The Kansas City Royals are 25-21 following Friday’s seven-run loss to the Cardinals. Kansas City has lost three straight. The Royals are 27th in runs scored and 26th in slugging percentage. Kansas City has lost five of the last six and is fourth in the American League Central, 5 ½ games behind the first-place Detroit Tigers. 

Bobby Witt Jr is batting .312 with 56 hits and an on-base percentage of .386 to lead Kansas City in the three categories. Vinnie Pasquantino is the leader in home runs with seven and RBI with 26. Kansas City has a .242 batting average and a .363 slugging percentage. On Sunday, Kansas City will send Michael Wacha to the mound. The right-hander is 3-4 with a 2.96 ERA, 37 Ks, and 16 BBs.

St Louis will win on Sunday when visiting Kansas City, but the play here is UNDER. The UNDER has cashed in six of the Cardinals’ last nine and 13 of the Royals’ last 20. St Louis starter Matthew Liberatore has had five straight strong outings, allowing eight runs on 23 hits across 28 innings. Kansas City starter Michael Wacha has had two consecutive solid outings, allowing two runs on 11 hits across 13.1 innings. Final Score Prediction: St. Louis Cardinals win, but our best play is UNDER 4-2.