St Louis Cardinals vs Tampa Bay Rays Prediction, Preview and Odds - 08/10/2023

Game Time: 6:40 pm ET, Thursday, August 10, 2023

Venue:  Tropicana Field, St. Petersburg, FL

Where to Watch:  MLB Network

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

Bet365:  Moneyline odds:  Cardinals +130, Rays -155; Over/Under:  9 runs

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

St Louis Cardinals:  49-65 (5th place, NL Central)

Tampa Bay Rays:  69-46 (2nd place, AL East)

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St Louis Cardinals:  3-7 last 10

Tampa Bay Rays:  7-3 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 49-65 record overall and have a road record of 24-32. This is the series finale of a 3-game series with the Rays on Thursday with the 2nd game of this series still to be played on Wednesday. They also lost the series opener of this series on Tuesday. Their offense ranks 6th in the MLB with a .762 OPS. Dakota Hudson is their starting pitcher on Wednesday while Matthew Liberatore is making his start in this game on Thursday. He is 1-4 with a 6.93 ERA this season. His team lost their last 3 straight games this season with him making an appearance. In his last MLB regular season start, he allowed 5 ER, 2 HR, and 2 BB with 1 K on 6 hits through 5.2 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 69-46 record overall and have a home record of 38-19. This is the 3rd game of a 3-game series with the Cardinals on Thursday with the 2nd game of this series still to be played on Wednesday. They also won the 1st game of this series on Tuesday. Their offense ranks 4th in the MLB with a .773 OPS. Jalen Beeks is their starting pitcher on Wednesday while Zack Littell is making his start in this game on Thursday. He is 2-2 with a 4.04 ERA this season. His team won their last 2 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 1 strikeout on 3 hits through 6 innings played against the Detroit Tigers.

The current betting odds have the Rays listed as a favorite in this game according to Draftkings Sportsbook. The Rays were leading the AL East for most of the season but have gone through a rough patch that has seen the Orioles pass them in the division now. The Rays are still only a few games behind though and they have been getting hot once again over the last week with their offense playing a lot better too. They also have one of the best pitching staffs in the entire MLB and they will be able to lean on that here against this Cardinals team that has a pretty good offense but has had some terrible pitching this season. The Cardinals are also going with Liberatore in this game and he hasn't been good at all in his starts this season. The Rays will take advantage of the scoring opportunities they get here since they have been a lot better in their home games too while the Cardinals offense will struggle to put up runs against Littell and the Rays bullpen behind him. The Rays are going to keep rolling in their home games as they look to chase down the Orioles in 1st place. The best way to place a bet here is on the Rays to win this game.

Cardinals Rays Prediction:  Our MLB Pick for Thursday, August 10, 2023 (6:40 pm ET start time) is Rays 6 Cardinals 2.

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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. ZACK LITTELL is 4-2 UNDER when the total is 9 to 9.5.

St Louis Cardinals:  T. O'Neill (RF) Ques Wed - Knee. 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 for season - 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.

“He was very good, especially navigating that lineup. Had everything for strikes, pounded the zone. It was a really good mix. Impressive outing.” - Oliver Marmol after his team’s loss against the Rays in their game on Tuesday.

“Very impressive. He had it all going, sinker, cutter, some big breaking balls in there. It was a well-pitched game on both ends.” - Kevin Cash after his team’s win against the Cardinals in their game on Tuesday.

Lars Nootbaar (L) LF

Paul Goldschmidt (R) 1B

Nolan Gorman (L) 2B

Nolan Arenado (R) 3B

Willson Contreras (R) C

Alec Burleson (L) DH

Jordan Walker (R) RF

Dylan Carlson (S) CF

Tommy Edman (S) SS

Yandy Diaz (R) 1B

Wander Franco (S) SS

Brandon Lowe (L) 2B

Randy Arozarena (R) LF

Isaac Paredes (R) 3B

Luke Raley (L) DH

Jose Siri (R) CF

Josh Lowe (L) RF

Christian Bethancourt (R) C

Batting Average:  Ivan Herrera (.348)

Hits:  Paul Goldschmidt (119)

Home Runs:  Nolan Arenado (24)

RBI:  Nolan Arenado (80)

Stolen Bases:  Tommy Edman (15)

Wins:  Miles Mikolas (6)

Saves:  Giovanny Gallegos (8)

ERA:  Packy Naughton (0.00)

Batting Average:  Rene Pinto (.357)

Hits:  Yandy Diaz (118)

Home Runs:  Isaac Paredes (22)

RBI:  Isaac Paredes (67)

Stolen Bases:  Wander Franco (29)

Wins:  Zach Eflin (12)

Saves:  Pete Fairbanks (15)

ERA:  Chase Anderson (0.00)

Managers:

St Louis Cardinals: Oliver Marmol (2nd season)

Tampa Bay Rays: Kevin Cash (9th season)