Cardinals vs Royals Prediction, Odds, Moneyline, Spread & Over/Under for May 17

Odds updated as of 9:11 p.m.

The Sunday slate in MLB includes a matchup between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Kansas City Royals.

Before checking out the MLB betting lines on FanDuel Sportsbook, we’ve got you covered, in terms of the most important information regarding this matchup.

St. Louis Cardinals (27-18) vs. Kansas City Royals (19-27)
Date: Sunday, May 17, 2026
Time: 2:15 p.m. ET
Venue: Busch Stadium — St. Louis, Missouri
Coverage: Cardinals.TV and Royals.TV

All MLB odds, betting lines and prop bets are available on FanDuel Sportsbook.
Moneyline: STL: (-116) | KC: (-102)
Spread: STL: +1.5 (-192) | KC: -1.5 (+158)
Total: 9 — Over: (-115) | Under: (-105)

Cardinals vs Royals Probable Starting Pitchers

Probable Pitchers: Andre Pallante (Cardinals) – 4-3, 4.46 ERA vs Stephen Kolek (Royals) – 1-0, 6.75 ERA

This contest’s pitching matchup is set, as the Cardinals will send Andre Pallante (4-3) to the mound, while Stephen Kolek (1-0) will get the nod for the Royals. When Pallante starts, his team is 5-3-0 against the spread this season. Pallante’s team is 0-2 this season when he starts and they’re favored on the moneyline. Kolek has started two games with set spreads, and the Royals went 1-1-0. The Royals were the underdog on the moneyline for one Kolek start this season — they won.

All MLB win probability predictions and picks are according to numberFire.
Prediction: Cardinals win (53.5%)

Looking at the moneyline for Royals-Cardinals, Kansas City is the underdog at -102, and St. Louis is -116 playing at home.

The Royals are 1.5-run favorites against the spread for this matchup with the Cardinals. The Royals are +158 to cover, while the Cardinals are -192 to cover as a 1.5-run underdog on the runline.

The Cardinals-Royals game on May 17 has been given an over/under of 9 runs. The over is set at -115 and the under at -105.

Bet on St. Louis Cardinals vs. Kansas City Royals on FanDuel today!

The Cardinals have been victorious in three of the five contests they have been chosen as favorites in this season.
St. Louis has been listed as a favorite of -116 or more on two occasions this season and split those games.
The Cardinals’ games have gone over the total in 19 of their 44 opportunities.
The Cardinals are 28-16-0 against the spread in their 44 games with a line set by sportsbooks this season.
The Royals are 7-12 in games they were the underdog on the moneyline (winning 36.8% of those games).
Kansas City has gone 4-10 when playing as a moneyline underdog with odds of -102 or longer (28.6%).
The Royals have played in 43 games with a set over/under, and have combined with opponents to go over the total 20 times (20-23-0).
The Royals have an 18-25-0 record ATS this season (covering 41.9% of the time).

Jordan Walker leads St. Louis in slugging percentage (.598) and total hits (52) this season. He’s batting .308 with an on-base percentage of .379.
Among all qualified batters, he is 14th in batting average, his on-base percentage ranks 24th, and he is eighth in slugging.
Walker hopes to build on a three-game hitting streak in this matchup. During his last five outings he is batting .364 with two doubles, two home runs, a walk and five RBIs.
Alec Burleson is batting .277 with 11 doubles, six home runs and 18 walks, while slugging .445 with an on-base percentage of .342.
He is 38th in batting average, 72nd in on-base percentage and 56th in slugging among qualifying hitters.
Burleson takes a two-game streak with at least one hit into this contest. During his last five outings he is batting .368 with a double and three RBIs.
JJ Wetherholt is batting .237 with a .408 slugging percentage and 22 RBI this year.
Ivan Herrera leads St. Louis in OBP (.398) this season, fueled by 44 hits.
Herrera brings a five-game hitting streak into this game. During his last five outings he is batting .286 with a double, a walk and two RBIs.

Royals Player Leaders

Bobby Witt Jr. has 56 hits with a .383 on-base percentage and a .503 slugging percentage, all club-highs for the Royals. He’s batting .309.
He ranks 13th in batting average, 21st in on-base percentage and 25th in slugging percentage among all qualified hitters in the majors.
Witt heads into this game on a nine-game hitting streak. During his last 10 outings he is batting .395 with two doubles, four home runs, six walks and seven RBIs.
Maikel Garcia is batting .264 with 13 doubles, a triple, three home runs and 19 walks. He’s slugging .402 with an on-base percentage of .333.
Including all qualified hitters, his batting average puts him 63rd, his on-base percentage is 83rd, and he is 84th in slugging.
Vinnie Pasquantino is hitting .201 with four doubles, two triples, five home runs and 20 walks.
Carter Jensen has five doubles, six home runs and 18 walks while hitting .237.

5/15/2026: 5-4 STL (Favorite: Cardinals, Spread: -1.5, Total: 8.5, Favorite Moneyline: -110, Underdog Moneyline: -106)
6/5/2025: 7-5 KC (Favorite: Cardinals, Spread: -1.5, Total: 7, Favorite Moneyline: -116, Underdog Moneyline: -102)
6/5/2025: 6-5 STL (Favorite: Cardinals, Spread: -1.5, Total: 8.5, Favorite Moneyline: -130, Underdog Moneyline: +110)
6/3/2025: 10-7 KC (Favorite: Cardinals, Spread: -1.5, Total: 9, Favorite Moneyline: -154, Underdog Moneyline: +130)
5/18/2025: 2-1 KC (Favorite: Cardinals, Spread: -1.5, Total: 8, Favorite Moneyline: -116, Underdog Moneyline: -102)
5/17/2025: 1-0 STL (Favorite: Royals, Spread: -1.5, Total: 8.5, Favorite Moneyline: -118, Underdog Moneyline: -100)
5/16/2025: 10-3 STL (Favorite: Royals, Spread: -1.5, Total: 8.5, Favorite Moneyline: -158, Underdog Moneyline: +134)
8/10/2024: 8-3 KC (Favorite: Royals, Spread: -1.5, Total: 9, Favorite Moneyline: -124, Underdog Moneyline: +106)
8/9/2024: 8-5 STL (Favorite: Royals, Spread: -1.5, Total: 8.5, Favorite Moneyline: -116, Underdog Moneyline: -102)
7/10/2024: 8-5 KC (Favorite: Cardinals, Spread: -1.5, Total: 8.5, Favorite Moneyline: -116, Underdog Moneyline: -102)