The St. Louis Cardinals hope to sweep the Kansas City Royals on Sunday at Busch Stadium, starting at 2:15 p.m. ET. Andre Pallante (4-3, 4.46 ERA) gets the start for the Cardinals, who are 27-18 this season and third in the NL Central. Stephen Kolek (1-0, 6.75 ERA) is expected to start for the Royals, who are 19-27 and fifth in the AL Central.
How to watch Kansas City Royals vs. St. Louis CardinalsRoyals vs. Cardinals odds
Injury reportsCardinals
Ramón Urías: 10 Day IL (Elbow), Lars Nootbaar: 60 Day IL (Heels)
Royals
Jonathan India: 10 Day IL (Shoulder), Matt Strahm: 15 Day IL (Knee), Cole Ragans: 15 Day IL (Elbow), Carlos Estévez: 15 Day IL (Foot), Alec Marsh: 60 Day IL (Shoulder), James McArthur: 60 Day IL (Elbow)
Stats to know
St. Louis’ Jordan Walker has hit 13 home runs this season, which ranks 8th in MLB. He has also tallied 34 RBIs (7th in MLB) and has scored 34 runs. In 190 plate appearances, he has recorded a .308 BA, .379 OBP and .598 SLG with a 10% walk rate and a 27.4% strikeout rate. He has been effective on the base paths, recording seven steals on 10 attempts.
In 193 plate appearances, Alec Burleson has slashed .277/.342/.445 this season. He has hit six long balls and driven in 33 runs (9th in MLB) with a strikeout rate of 16.6% and a walk rate of 9.3%. He has come around to score 21 times.
Kansas City’s Bobby Witt Jr. is slashing .309/.383/.503 this season with seven home runs, 23 RBIs and an OPS of .886. He has a 17% strikeout rate and an 11.2% walk rate in 206 plate appearances, and he has scored 22 total runs. Witt has recorded 13 steals on 16 attempts.
In 195 plate appearances, Maikel Garcia has hit three long balls, tallied 18 RBIs and scored 25 runs. He is batting .264/.333/.402 and has posted a 14.4% strikeout rate and a 9.7% walk rate. Garcia has recorded four steals on seven attempts.
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Photo: Jamie Squire, Ishika Samant, Scott Taetsch, Alika Jenner / Getty Images
May 17, 2026
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