Royals at Cardinals prediction: Odds, expert picks, starting pitchers, betting trends, and stats for June 5
It's Thursday, June 5, and the Royals (32-29) are in St. Louis to take on the Cardinals (33-27). Cole Ragans is slated to take the mound for Kansas City against Matthew Liberatore for St. Louis.
Yesterday's matchup between the two was postponed due to inclement weather in the area. Today will be a doubleheader.
The Royals need to get something going in this series. They are in fourth place in the AL Central and 8.0 games back from the first-place Detroit Tigers. They have lost six of their last 10 and hope to build on their 10-7 Tuesday win.
Let's 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
Date: Thursday, June 5, 2025
Time: 7:45PM EST
Site: Busch Stadium
City: St. Louis, MO
Network/Streaming: FanDuel Sports Network Midwest, FanDuel Sports Network Kansas City
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
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
Pitching matchup for June 5, 2025: Cole Ragans vs. Matthew Liberatore
Royals: Cole Ragans, (2-3, 4.53 ERA)
Last outing (St. Louis Cardinals, 5/16): 5.0 Innings Pitched, 4 Earned Runs Allowed, 5 Hits Allowed, 0 Walks, and 7 StrikeoutsCardinals: Matthew Liberatore, (3-4, 3.08 ERA)
Last outing (Texas Rangers, 5/30): 5.0 Innings Pitched, 4 Earned Runs Allowed, 7 Hits Allowed, 1 Walks, and 5 Strikeouts
Royals: Cole Ragans, (2-3, 4.53 ERA)
Last outing (St. Louis Cardinals, 5/16): 5.0 Innings Pitched, 4 Earned Runs Allowed, 5 Hits Allowed, 0 Walks, and 7 Strikeouts
Cardinals: Matthew Liberatore, (3-4, 3.08 ERA)
Last outing (Texas Rangers, 5/30): 5.0 Innings Pitched, 4 Earned Runs Allowed, 7 Hits Allowed, 1 Walks, and 5 Strikeouts
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Top betting trends & insights to know ahead of Royals at Cardinals
The Cardinals are 6-4 in their last 10 games
Each of the Royals' last 3 games at the Cardinals have gone over the Total
The Royals have covered the Run Line in 10 of their last 12 road games against the Cardinals
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 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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