Tampa Bay Rays vs St. Louis Cardinals Betting Pick & Prediction 8/7/24
At 7:45 PM ET, the Rays and Cardinals square off in an interleague matchup. This one is being played at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, and the Cardinals are favored on the money line, with their odds sitting at -119 compared to the Rays at +101. The over/under line is currently 7.5 runs.
Taj Bradley will be starting for the Rays, while the Cardinals are sending Erick Fedde to the mound. The Rays are 4th in the AL East, while the Cardinals are 2nd in the NL Central. BSMW is carrying this game on TV.
ST. LOUIS CARDINALS VS TAMPA BAY RAYS BETTING PICK
The Pick: St. Louis Cardinals Moneyline -119
This game will be played at Busch Stadium at 7:45 ET on Wednesday, August 7th.
HOW TO BET THE RAYS VS CARDINALS:
- We have the Cardinals winning by a score of 5 to 4
- If you’re looking for a run line pick, we also like the Cardinals to cover
- As for an over/under pick, we have this game finishing with 9 runs and like the over
It was a low-scoring game in the most recent game of this Cardinals vs Rays series. St. Louis went into the matchup as -152 favorites and squeaked out a 4-3 win. The Cardinals offense only had two more hits than the Rays and struck out five times as a team.
Tampa Bay had a chance to tie or take the lead in the 9th inning, scoring one run off Cardinals closer Ryan Helsley. Jeffrey Springs took the loss for the Rays out of the bullpen.
Sonny Gray pitched well for the Cardinals in this one, going seven innings and striking out six without giving up a home run. He picked up a win in the game, while Tommy Pham and Victor Scott each homered for St. Louis’ offense.
Rays Records & Stats
The Rays are 9.5 games behind the Yankees in the AL East, and they are 57-55 overall. Currently, they are 4th in the AL East, with an overall division record of 16-21. Tampa Bay lost the first game of this series vs. the Cardinals and has an overall series record of 20-12-4, which includes a two-game road winning streak in series.
At home, the Rays are 30-29 this season, and they have gone 27-26 on the road. As the favorite, the Rays are 30-27 this year and 27-28 as the underdog. Heading into today’s game, the Rays have gone 6-4 over their last 10.
When the Rays are on the road, they have been a good bet against the run line, with a 33-20 record. They have won their last five games against the run line on the road, and their average run margin in those games is +2.8. They have been a better bet against the run line as an underdog, going 35-20, compared to 22-35 as a favorite.
When the Rays are on the road, the over/under line is set at 7.5 runs, which is lower than their season average of 8.3 runs per game. Their over/under record for the season is 52-55, and when the line is set at 7.5 runs, they are 17-17. Overall, 64.3% of their games have had higher over/under lines than 7.5 runs, and they are currently on a four-game under streak.
Taj Bradley is looking to bounce back from a rough outing vs. the Marlins, where he took the loss. In that start, he gave up four earned runs in five innings of work. Before that outing, he had picked up the win in three straight starts. Bradley has a record of 6-5 this season and an ERA of 2.71. Out of his 15 starts, he has seven quality starts and is averaging 10.74 strikeouts per nine innings. For the season, Bradley has given up 12 homers and is averaging 2.92 walks per nine innings.
Over his last 10 games, Brandon Lowe has been on fire for the Rays, going 16/37 with two homers and 10 RBIs. This has helped him raise his season average to .275, and he is 2nd on the team with 50 RBIs. Christopher Morel has struggled of late, going just 2/17 in his last five games, and is batting just .195 for the season.
As a team, the Rays are averaging just 4 runs per game, which is 27th in the league. They have been even worse at home, averaging only 3.7 runs per contest. Overall, they are batting just .234 and are near the bottom of the league in home runs.
Cardinals Records & Stats
St. Louis is six games behind the Brewers in the NL Central and are 58-56 overall this season. The Cardinals are 17-19 against other NL Central teams this year. They have a chance to pick up a game on the Brewers today, as they are the home and the Rays are 2nd in the AL East, seven games behind the Red Sox.
The Cardinals have dropped two straight series and have an overall series record of 18-16-3 this year. As the home underdog, they are 10-6 this season, and they are 30-26 at home compared to 28-30 on the road.
When betting the run line on the Cardinals, it’s best to take them as the underdog, as they are 37-19 against the run line in those games. They are 56-58 overall against the run line, and their average run differential is -0.4 runs per game. They have been a better bet on the road, where they are 29-29 against the run line, compared to 27-29 at home.
When the St. Louis Cardinals play at home, the over/under line is set at 7.5 runs, which is lower than their season average of 8 runs per game. The Cardinals have gone over the total in 55 of their 111 games this season, including 8 of 23 games with a 7.5 run line. Their games have averaged 8.7 runs per game this season.
Right-hander Erick Fedde gets the start for the Cardinals today as he faces off against the Rays. This year, he has made 22 starts and has a record of 7-5 with a 3.34 ERA. Opponents have put together a batting average of .227 vs. Fedde this year, and he has turned in 10 quality starts. In his last outing, Fedde took the loss, giving up five earned runs in five innings of work. Before that, he had given up just two earned runs in back-to-back outings. Fedde has been much better at home, coming in with a 2.09 ERA compared to 4.71 on the road.
Heading into today’s game, the Cardinals are averaging 4.1 runs per game, which is 24th in the league. This is also the 24th ranked scoring offense in the league in terms of road games, as they are putting up just 4 runs per game away from home. As a team, the Cardinals are batting .245, which is 10th in the league, and they are also near the top of the league in terms of batting average on balls in play.
Over his last 10 games, Masyn Winn has gone 10/42 with three homers and is batting .238. For the season, he is the team’s leading hitter at .280 and has gone deep nine times. Alec Burleson and Nolan Gorman are the team’s top power threats, with 19 homers apiece. Burleson also leads the team with 64 RBIs, while Gorman is 3rd on the team with 50 RBIs.