St. Louis Cardinals vs Tampa Bay Rays Picks and Predictions August 6th 2024

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 the slight favorite on the money line (-144). The over/under line is currently 7.5 runs.

Jeffrey Springs will start for the Rays, and he is facing off against Sonny Gray. Tampa Bay is 57-54 this season, while the Cardinals are 57-56. Gray will look to help the Cardinals snap a two-game losing streak, and they are 2nd in the NL Central. The Rays are 4th in the AL East. BSMW is carrying this game on TV.

Tampa Bay vs. St. Louis Key Information

• Teams: Rays at Cardinals
• Where: Busch Stadium St. Louis
• Date: Tuesday, August 6th
• Betting Odds STL -144 | TB +122 O/U 7.5

Jeffrey Springs will be making his 2nd start of the season for the Rays, as they are on the road against the Cardinals. In his first start, Springs went 3 2/3 innings, giving up 2 earned runs and 6 hits. He did strike out 3 batters but also gave up a homer.

Over his last eight games, Yandy Diaz has gone 10/31 with two homers and five runs scored. He is also on a five-game hitting streak. For the season, he is batting .277 with 10 homers and 50 RBIs. Christopher Morel is batting just .197 for the season and has gone 2/13 over his last four games. However, he does have 20 homers, which is 1st on the team and 11th in the league.

As a team, the Rays are 27th in the league in scoring at 4 runs per game. They have been even worse at home, averaging just 3.7 runs per contest. Overall, they are batting .235, which is 15th in the league. The Rays have been good at drawing walks this season and have the 11th best on-base percentage in the league.

• The Rays are 6-4 in their last ten games.
• Over their last five games, the Rays are 4-1 vs. the run line.
• Tampa Bay has an over/under record of 4-6 in their last ten games.
• The Rays have an average of 4.0 runs per game over their last five games.
• Across their last ten road games, the Rays are 6-4
• Looking back across the Rays last five games as the favorite, they are 3-2
• Tampa Bay has gone 2-1 in their last three games as the underdog
• In their ten most recent road games, the Rays have averaged 4.6 runs per game on offense

Sonny Gray gets the start for the Cardinals today and will be looking to build off his last outing, where he finished with a no-decision. Against the Cubs on August 1st, he went seven innings, giving up two earned runs, and had nine strikeouts. Gray has made 20 starts this season and has a record of 10-6 with a 3.72 ERA. Looking back over his last four outings, Gray has finished with a no-decision in three of them. His ERA for the season at home is 2.90 compared to 5.26 on the road.

Heading into today’s game, the Cardinals are averaging 4.1 runs per game, which is 23rd in the league. This season, they have been a better offensive team at home, averaging 4.3 runs per game. As a team, they are batting .245, which is 9th in the league, and their collective on-base percentage of .308 is 15th in the MLB. St. Louis has two players with 19 home runs this season, with both Alec Burleson and Nolan Gorman tied for the team lead.

Over his last six games, Masyn Winn has gone 7/27 (.259) with two homers and four RBIs. This season, Winn is batting .278 with nine homers. Brendan Donovan and Alec Burleson are also tied for the team lead with 52 and 64 RBIs, respectively. Burleson has gone deep 19 times this season, which is 12th in the league.

• The Cardinals are 4-6 in their last ten games.
• Over their last five games, the Cardinals are 0-5 vs. the run line.
• St. Louis has an over/under record of 7-3 in their last ten games.
• The Cardinals have an average of 2.8 runs per game over their last five games.
• Across their last ten home games, the Cardinals are 4-6
• Looking back across the Cardinals last five games as the favorite, they are 2-3
• St. Louis has gone 1-2 in their last three games as the underdog
• In their ten most recent road games, the Cardinals have averaged 3.4 runs per game on offense

Cardinals Aim to Shake Slump in Series Opener vs. Rays

The St. Louis Cardinals, struggling to stay in the National League wild-card race, are gearing up to face the Tampa Bay Rays in a critical three-game home series starting Tuesday night. Manager Oliver Marmol has stressed the urgency and determination the team needs to turn their season around.

Cardinals’ Offensive Woes

The Cardinals have hit a rough patch, losing four of their last five games and eight of their last twelve. Their latest setback was a 6-0 loss to the New York Mets, where they went 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position. Since the All-Star break, they’ve managed to score three runs or fewer in nine of their 17 games, highlighting their offensive struggles.

“Players have urgency, staff has urgency,” Marmol said. “Everybody is pretty aware of our situation and what we need to do to get where we want to get to.”

Pitching Matchup: Gray vs. Springs

St. Louis Cardinals:

Sonny Gray (10-6, 3.72 ERA) will start the series opener. Gray was solid against the Cubs in his last outing, allowing two runs over seven innings with nine strikeouts. He has a 4-6 record with a 4.20 ERA in 15 career appearances against the Rays.

Tampa Bay Rays:

Jeffrey Springs (0-0, 4.91 ERA) will make his second start since returning from Tommy John surgery. In his first game back, Springs allowed two runs over 3 2/3 innings against the Marlins. He holds a 1.00 ERA in two career appearances against the Cardinals.

Injury Watch

Rays first baseman Yandy Diaz is questionable for the game due to a left wrist contusion. Diaz was hit by a hard liner from Houston’s Yordan Alvarez, making it difficult for him to close his hand and grip a bat or glove. Despite the injury, Diaz remains hopeful about his recovery.

Managerial Insights

Marmol noted that the team’s offensive struggles are not uniform, with some players feeling more confident than others. “There are guys who are pretty tired and are grinding through it and there are guys who just don’t feel great where they are offensively,” he said.

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Strategic Importance

1. Hitting with Runners in Scoring Position: The Cardinals need to improve their hitting with runners in scoring position to support their pitching staff.
2. Gray’s Experience: Gray’s strong pitching and experience against the Rays will be crucial.
3. Springs’ Comeback: The Rays will look to Springs to continue his comeback and provide solid innings.

The Lean

Our lean in this Rays vs. Cardinals matchup is to take the Cardinals to win straight-up. We also have this as the 5th lowest-scoring game of the day, but with the line sitting at 7.5 runs, we are leaning towards taking the over. Sonny Gray is our 3rd ranked starting pitcher of the day in terms of strikeouts, and we have him working deeper into the game than Jeffrey Springs for the Rays.