St. Louis Cardinals vs. Tampa Bay Rays Betting Preview, Odds & Prediction, 8–10–2023
The St. Louis Cardinals and Tampa Bay Rays finish their three-game series in Tropicana Field on Friday, commencing at 6:40 PM ET. The Rays swiped Game 1, 4–2 while the Cardinals took Game 2, 6–4 as +154 underdogs. Oddsmakers list the Rays -190 favorites with the O/U set at 9.5.
MLB Odds: Cardinals vs. Rays
St. Louis Cardinals +160 | Tampa Bay Rays -190
St. Louis Cardinals: +1.5 (-134) | Tampa Bay Rays: -1.5 (+112)
Over: 9.5 (-122)
Under: 9.5 (+100)
It’s been a disappointing season in St. Louis a year after losing to the Phillies in the NL Wild Card. The Cardinals offense can score runs, as they sit 12th in the majors in runs scored this year, while sitting seventh in batting average and slugging, and sixth in on-base percentage. Pitching has been the downfall of the Cardinals this year. they are 22nd in the majors in ERA while sitting 27th in WHIP and 29th in opponent batting average. The Cardinals are also 22nd in quality starts. The Cardinals will start Matthew Liberatore today. He is 1–4 on the season with a 6.93 ERA. He has struggled heavily in the last three starts. In July, he made just two starts early in the month before missing the rest of the month.
While the Cardinals’ pitching has struggled this year, the Ray’s pitching has been fantastic as they are fifth in the league in team ERA while sitting second in WHIP and first in opponent batting average. Getting the ball today will be Zack Littell who has been primarily used as a reliever this year, making four starts. In those starts, he is 2–1 and has pitched 16.1 innings, while giving up just three runs and a 1.65 ERA. Tampa Bay has been equally good at the plate scoring 5.18 RPG which ranks 4th in baseball and 170 home runs which also ranks 4th in MLB. Wander Franco has been red hot the past week hitting .500 with a .545 on-base percentage, three RBIs on two home runs.
Cardinals vs. Rays Prediction: Tampa Bay Rays -1.5
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