Royals at Cardinals Game 2 prediction: Odds, expert picks, starting pitchers, trends, and stats for June 5
Its Thursday, June 5 and the Royals (32-29) are in St. Louis to take on the Cardinals (33-27) for a doubleheader following last night's rainout.
Cole Ragans is slated to take the mound for Kansas City against Matthew Liberatore for St. Louis in Game 2.
The series opened Tuesday with a 10-7 Royals' win. Bobby Witt Jr. drove in four to pace the offense which overcame an awful start from Michael Lorenzen who allowed seven runs in just 2.2 innings.
Lets dive into the matchup and find a sweat or two.
We've got all the info and analysis you need to know ahead of the game, including the latest info on the how to catch tipoff, odds, recent team performance, player stats, and of course, our predictions, picks & best bets for the game from our modeling tools and staff of experts.
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Game details & how to watch Royals at Cardinals - Game 2
Date: Thursday, June 5, 2025
Time: 7:45PM EST
Site: Busch Stadium
City: St. Louis, MO
Network/Streaming: FDSNKC, FDSNMW
Never miss a second of the action and stay up-to-date with all the latest team stats and player news. Check out our day-by-day MLB schedule page, along with detailed matchup pages that update live in-game with every out.
Odds for the Royals at the Cardinals - Game 2
The latest odds as of Thursday:
Moneyline: Royals (-102), Cardinals (-117)
Spread: Cardinals 1.5
Total: 7.0 runs
Probable starting pitchers for Royals at Cardinals - Game 2
Pitching matchup for June 5, 2025: Cole Ragans vs. Matthew Liberatore
Royals: Cole Ragans (2-3, 4.53 ERA)
Last outing: 5/16 vs. St. Louis - 5IP, 4ER, 5H, 0BB, 7KsCardinals: Matthew Liberatore (3-4, 3.08 ERA)
Last outing: 5/30 at Texas - 5IP, 4ER, 7H, 1BB, 5Ks
Royals: Cole Ragans (2-3, 4.53 ERA)
Last outing: 5/16 vs. St. Louis - 5IP, 4ER, 5H, 0BB, 7Ks
Cardinals: Matthew Liberatore (3-4, 3.08 ERA)
Last outing: 5/30 at Texas - 5IP, 4ER, 7H, 1BB, 5Ks
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Top betting trends & insights to know ahead of Royals at Cardinals - Game 2
The Cardinals are showing a 129% return on investment at home on the Money Line
Each of the Royals' last 3 games in St. Louis have gone over the Total
The Royals have covered the Run Line in 10 of their last 12 road games against the Cardinals
Bobby Witt Jr. is 3-8 to open June after closing May with just 2 hits in his final 18 ABs
If you're looking for more key trends and stats around the spread, moneyline and total for every single game on the schedule today, check out our MLB Top Trends tool on NBC Sports!
Expert picks & predictions for tonight's game between the Royals and the Cardinals
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Our model calculates projections around each moneyline, spread and over/under bet for every game on the MLB calendar based on data points like past performance, player matchups, ballpark information and weather forecasts.
Once the model is finished running, we put its projection next to the latest betting lines for the game to arrive at a relative confidence level for each wager.
Here are the best bets our model is projecting for Thursday's Game 2 between the Royals and the Cardinals:
Moneyline: NBC Sports Bet is recommending a play on the St. Louis Cardinals on the Moneyline.
Spread: NBC Sports Bet is leaning towards a play ATS on the Kansas City Royals at +1.5.
Total: NBC Sports Bet is recommending a play on the over on the Game Total of 7.0.
Want even more MLB best bets and predictions from our expert staff & tools? Check out the Expert MLB Predictions page from NBC
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Jay Croucher (@croucherJD)
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