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Royals @ Cardinals

Royals
20
Final
Cardinals
Sun, May 17, 2026, 2:15 PM ET · MLB
Closing · ML +101 · SPR +1.5 · O/U 9.5

Archived game: the closing market as it stood at kickoff, kept permanently at this URL. Live odds, picks and the confluence table only run on games still on the slate.

Matchup summary

Final: Royals beat the Cardinals 2-0 on the road. The market closed with Royals at +101 on the moneyline and the total at 9.5. The closing betting splits (tickets vs money), the opening line and the movement into kickoff are below.

Market data captured (closing state as of ) · source: Action Network's closing consensus for this game · permanent record at this URL

More on this matchup: Royals betting trends · Cardinals betting trends · all MLB games

Royals vs Cardinals betting splits

Where was the money on Royals vs Cardinals?

MarketSideTicketsMoneyClosing line / odds
SpreadRoyals17%12%-1.5 (-166)
Cardinals83%88%+1.5 (-190)
TotalOver57%63%O 9.5 (-110)
Under43%37%U 9.5 (-111)
MoneylineRoyals28%19%+101
Cardinals72%81%-120

83% of spread tickets and 88% of spread money were on the Cardinals, so the average Cardinals bet was larger than the average Royals bet.

57% of total tickets and 63% of total money were on the over, so the average over bet was larger than the average under bet.

72% of moneyline tickets and 81% of moneyline money were on the Cardinals, so the average Cardinals bet was larger than the average Royals bet.

Line movement

What was the closing line for Royals vs Cardinals?

MarketOpeningClosingMove
Spread (Cardinals)-1.5+1.5+3
Total9.59.50

The Cardinals opened -1.5 and closed +1.5, a 3-point move toward the Royals.

The total opened 9.5 and closed 9.5: it has not moved.

Why the line moved

Why did the Royals vs Cardinals line move?

The spread moved 3 points toward the Royals (Cardinals -1.5 to Cardinals +1.5) even though 88% of the spread money sits on the Cardinals; the Royals hold 12% of the money and 17% of the tickets, so the line moved away from the money side. The total did not move from its opening number (9.5) even with 63% of the total money on the over. Splits describe where the money sits, not what will happen.

Splits describe where the money sits, not what will happen; there is no historical dataset for this sport yet.

Read more

Royals vs Cardinals Final Score, Closing Odds & Betting Splits — May 17, 2026 | Locksmith