The Tampa Bay Rays (57-56) travel to face off against the St. Louis Cardinals (59-56) on Thursday, August 8th. This game will be played at Busch Stadium in St. Louis and televised on BSSUN. The Cardinals are coming off a win in their previous game, while the Rays are looking to get back on track from a loss to the Cardinals. First pitch is set for 6:15 CT.
Rays vs. Cardinals Betting Prediction
- Money Line Prediction: Cardinals (-127)
- Over/Under Prediction: Over 8 Runs
- The Cardinals have won 5 of their last 7 home games.
- The Cardinals have scored an average of 5.2 runs per game in their last 5 home games.
- The Cardinals have won both of their last two games against the Rays, scoring a total of 9 runs.
- The Cardinals have a winning record at home with 31 wins and 26 losses.
- The Cardinals have a positive run differential of +7 in their last 3 home games.
Rays vs Cardinals
St. Louis picked up a 5-2 win over the Rays in the most recent game of this series. The Cardinals had a 1-0 lead after the first inning and scored their final run in the 4th. As for the Rays, they got on the board with one run in the 3rd and scored their final run in the 6th.
Erick Fedde got the win for the Cardinals, going five innings and giving up one run. He finished the game with six strikeouts but issued two walks. On the other side, Taj Bradley took the loss for the Rays, giving up five earned runs in just 4 2/3 innings of work.
Josh Lowe was the only player in the Rays’ lineup to have more than one hit, as he went 2/3 with an RBI. Alec Burleson and Nolan Arenado each had two hits and two RBIs for the Cardinals.
On the road, the Rays have a 27-27 straight-up record and a 33-21 record against the run line. They have covered the run line in 35 of 56 games as underdogs, but are 22-35 as favorites. The under has hit in their last five games, bringing their overall O/U record to 52-56.
Tampa Bay is 57-56 overall this season and are in 4th place in the AL East, 10 games behind the Orioles. They have won two straight series on the road and are looking to avoid a three-game losing streak today against the Cardinals.
Shane Baz Gets The Start For The Rays
Shane Baz is getting the start for the Rays today against the Cardinals. Baz has started 4 games this season, and he has yet to pick up a win. In his last outing, he went 5 1/3 innings, giving up 2 earned runs on 6 hits. He has 13 strikeouts in 14 2/3 innings pitched this season.
Rays Offense Breakdown
So far this season, the Rays are averaging just 3.9 runs per game, which is 27th in the league. Their home and road splits are nearly identical, as they are averaging 4.2 runs per game on the road and 3.7 at home. As a team, they are batting just .234 and are also near the bottom of the league in terms of home runs.
Yandy Diaz has been the Rays’ most consistent hitter this season, batting .274 with 10 home runs. He has also gone 11/38 in his last 10 games. Christopher Morel has really struggled of late, going just 2/21 in his last six games. However, he does lead the team with 20 homers. Jose Siri is also near the top of the team’s home run leaderboard, but he is batting just .206 for the season.
St. Louis is 59-56 overall and six games behind the Brewers in the NL Central. They have an 18-16-3 series record this season, with a two-game series losing streak. The Cardinals’ average run margin in winning games is +2.7, and their over/under record is 55-57.
Against the run line, the Cardinals have a 37-19 record as underdogs. Their straight-up record as favorites is 31-28, and they are 5-5 in their last 10 games. Overall, 58.3% of their games have had over/under lines set above 8 runs, and they are currently on a four-game under streak.
Kyle Gibson Gets The Start For The Cardinals
Kyle Gibson gets the start for the Cardinals today and is coming off a rough outing against the Cubs. In that start, which came on August 3rd, he went seven innings, giving up four earned runs, and took the loss. Gibson finished with a no-decision in three straight outings before that. One positive for Gibson is that he has allowed just one earned run in three of his last four outings. For the season, he has a record of 7-4, an ERA of 4.04, and opponents are batting .242 off the right-hander. Gibson’s WHIP for the season is 1.31.
Cardinals Offense Breakdown
Heading into today’s game, the Cardinals are averaging 4.1 runs per game, which is 23rd in the league. As a team, they are batting .245, which is 9th in the league, and their collective on-base percentage of .309 is 15th in the MLB. St. Louis has two players with 19 homers this season, with both Alec Burleson and Nolan Gorman ranking 14th in the league in that category.
Over his last eight games, Masyn Winn has gone 10/33 (.303) with two homers and four RBIs. Nolan Arenado has also been swinging a hot bat of late, going 11/31 in his last eight games. Arenado also comes into the game on a five-game hitting streak.
Rays vs Cardinals Prediction
Our prediction for today’s game between the Rays and Cardinals is to take the Cardinals on the money line at -127. We have the Cardinals winning this one by a final score of 5-4.
Looking at the starting pitchers, our projections have Kyle Gibson finishing with six strikeouts compared to Shane Baz with five. However, we do have Gibson finishing with a better ERA than Baz.
Offensively, we have the Cardinals finishing with nine hits compared to the Rays with eight. As for home runs, the Cardinals are projected to finish with nine, while the Rays are 12th in the league in projected home runs.
All odds are courtesy of Action247 Sportsbook. Good luck!!
* All odds are provided by Action247 Sportsbook and all odds subject to change.**All views expressed are my own. My picks are my own and are not a guarantee, bet at your own risk.Action247 does not warrant the accuracy of completeness of the information, text, graphics, links or other items contained within these post.
Last updated:August 8, 2024 Cardinals, Rays