St Louis Cardinals vs Tampa Bay Rays Prediction, Preview and Odds - 08/09/2023

Game Time: 6:40 pm ET, Wednesday, August 9, 2023

Venue:  Tropicana Field, St. Petersburg, FL

Where to Watch:  BSSUN

DraftKings:  Moneyline odds:  Cardinals +130, Rays -155; Over/Under:  9.5 runs

Bet365:  Moneyline odds:  Cardinals +130, Rays -150; Over/Under:  9.5 runs

BetMGM:  Moneyline odds:  Cardinals +130, Rays -155; Over/Under:  9 runs

St Louis Cardinals:  49-64 (5th place, NL Central)

Tampa Bay Rays:  68-46 (2nd place, AL East)

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St Louis Cardinals:  3-7 last 10

Tampa Bay Rays:  6-4 last 10

The Cardinals are entering this series off a loss and lost their 3-game series against the Colorado Rockies 2-1 in their last series. They enter this game with a 49-64 record overall and have a road record of 24-31. This is the 2nd game of a 3-game series with the Rays on Wednesday with the series opener of this series still to be played on Tuesday. Their offense ranks 6th in the MLB with a .762 OPS. Miles Mikolas is their starting pitcher on Tuesday while Dakota Hudson is making his start in this game on Wednesday. He is 2-0 with a 4.10 ERA this season. His team lost 2 of their last 3 games this season with him making an appearance. In his last MLB regular season start, he allowed 3 ER, 1 HR, and 3 BB with 7 Ks on 2 hits through 7 IP against the Minnesota Twins.

The Rays are entering this series off a win and won their 3-game series against the Detroit Tigers 2-1 in their last series. They enter this game with a 68-46 record overall and have a home record of 37-19. This is the 2nd game of a 3-game series with the Cardinals on Wednesday with the 1st game of this series still to be played on Tuesday. Their offense ranks 4th in the MLB with a .773 OPS. Zach Eflin is their starting pitcher on Tuesday while Jalen Beeks is making his start in this game on Wednesday. He is 2-3 with a 6.27 ERA this season. His team lost their last 4 straight games this season with him making an appearance. In his last MLB regular season start, he allowed 0 earned runs, 0 homers, and 1 BB with 3 strikeouts on 2 hits through 1.2 innings played against the Oakland Athletics.

The current betting odds have the Rays listed as a favorite in this game according to Draftkings Sportsbook. The Rays have been starting to roll again in their games lately as their pitching has been good and their offense has been getting hot again. The Cardinals also have a good offense themselves but their pitching has been terrible this season and they are a long way out of this playoff race this season. The Cardinals have Hudson starting in this game but he has been giving up some runs in his starts lately and with the Rays offense getting hot again, they will definitely take advantage of their scoring opportunities here. The Rays will have Beeks starting in this game and he hasn't been great this season but he will only serve as an opener here while the Rays bullpen takes over for the rest of the game and the Rays have had a really good bullpen all year. The Rays have the better pitching matchup here with their offense starting to get hot now and they will continue to roll in this game. The best way to place a bet here is on the Rays to win this game.

Cardinals Rays Prediction:  Our MLB Pick for Wednesday, August 9, 2023 (6:40 pm ET start time) is Rays 4 Cardinals 1.

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St Louis Cardinals: 49-65 (-29.9 units) on the moneyline in all games. 17-24 (-13.8 units) on the moneyline when the total is 9 to 9.5. 10-5 UNDER as a road underdog of +125 to +175. 10-5 UNDER on the road when the total is 9 to 9.5.

Tampa Bay Rays: 61-29 (+15 units) on the moneyline as a favorite of -110 or higher. 38-19 (+9.1 units) on the moneyline in home games. 9-4 UNDER against NL Central opponents. JALEN BEEKS is 6-2 UNDER when the total is 9 to 9.5.

St Louis Cardinals:  M. Mikolas (SP) Elig Tues - Suspension. B. Donovan (2B) out for season - Elbow. J. Woodford (RP) Mid Aug - Shoulder. W. Rodriguez (RP) Mid Aug - Shoulder. R. Helsley (RP) Mid Aug - Forearm. P. Naughton (SP) out for season - Forearm.

Tampa Bay Rays:  T. Glasnow (SP) day-to-day - Back. S. McClanahan (SP) Out indefinitely - Forearm. A. Kittredge (RP) Mid Aug - Elbow. J. Fleming (SP) Mid Aug - Elbow. T. Walls (SS) Out indefinitely - Oblique. F. Mejia (C) Early Sept - Knee. D. Rasmussen (RP) out for season - Elbow. G. Cleavinger (RP) out for season - Knee. J. Springs (RP) out for season - Elbow. S. Baz (SP) out for season - Elbow.

“There were plenty of opportunities. We didn't get that necessary hit.” - Oliver Marmol after his team’s loss against the Rockies in their game on Sunday.

“We needed all the runs today, because it was going to be a bullpen game. Manning really locked in after we got the early five runs, and we wanted to give the relievers as much of an advantage as we could.” - Kevin Cash after his team’s win against the Tigers in their game on Sunday.

Tommy Edman (S) SS

Paul Goldschmidt (R) 1B

Nolan Arenado (R) 3B

Tyler O'Neill (R) DH

Nolan Gorman (L) 2B

Jordan Walker (R) RF

Dylan Carlson (S) CF

Andrew Knizner (R) C

Lars Nootbaar (L) LF

Yandy Diaz (R) DH

Wander Franco (S) SS

Brandon Lowe (L) 2B

Randy Arozarena (R) LF

Luke Raley (L) RF

Isaac Paredes (R) 1B

Josh Lowe (L) CF

Curtis Mead (R) 3B

Christian Bethancourt (R) C

Batting Average:  Ivan Herrera (.348)

Hits:  Paul Goldschmidt (119)

Home Runs:  Nolan Arenado (24)

RBI:  Nolan Arenado (79)

Stolen Bases:  Tommy Edman (15)

Wins:  Miles Mikolas (6)

Saves:  Giovanny Gallegos (8)

ERA:  Packy Naughton (0.00)

Batting Average:  Rene Pinto (.357)

Hits:  Wander Franco (115)

Home Runs:  Isaac Paredes (21)

RBI:  Isaac Paredes (66)

Stolen Bases:  Wander Franco (29)

Wins:  Zach Eflin (12)

Saves:  Pete Fairbanks (14)

ERA:  Chase Anderson (0.00)

Managers:

St Louis Cardinals: Oliver Marmol (2nd season)

Tampa Bay Rays: Kevin Cash (9th season)