Cardinals Try to Limit Damage From Visiting Rays
Rays vs Cardinals Baseball Odds Favors Host St. Louis In Tuesday's Series Opener

Gray, Cardinals Look for Some Home Cooking In Rare Series at Busch Stadium With the Rays
The St. Louis Cardinals are just 5-8 in their last 13 home games. Will that change when the Tampa Bay Rays come to Busch Stadium for just the fourth road series against the Cardinals since the start of the 2009 season? The Rays vs Cardinals baseball odds favor host St. Louis as the series gets underway.
This is the first time St. Louis played host to Tampa Bay since 2017 with the Rays winning two of the three games.
When the teams met last season, St. Louis won two of the three games. Five of the last seven games between the teams went under the total.

The MLB odds have the Cardinals priced at -145 to win the series opener as Sonny Gray looks to improve to 7-4 at home. The Cardinals have +150 at -1.5 on the run line. Tampa Bay has +120 odds to win the series opener.
- Even though the MLB teams have nearly identical records, St. Louis is priced at +6500 in the odds of winning the World Series with the Rays well back at +25000 in the championship odds.
Rays vs Cardinals 
📊Records: Tampa Bay Rays 57-54 at St. Louis Cardinals 57-56
⏰Day/Time: 📍Location: Busch Stadium, St. Louis, MO
📺Streaming: Bally Sports Sun
Rays vs Cardinals Probable Starting Pitchers
- Tuesday: Jeffrey Springs (Rays); Sonny Gray (Cardinals)
- Wednesday: Taj Bradley (Rays); Erick Fedde (Cardinals)
- Thursday: Shane Baz (Rays); Kyle Gibson (Cardinals)
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Cardinals Struggling to Deliver Clutch Hits
August has not been kind to the St. Louis Cardinals and their quest to secure a spot in the National League playoffs.
St. Louis is 1-4 in August after being shut out by the New York Mets on Monday. Will that factor into the Rays vs Cardinals baseball odds?
The Cardinals were 1-for-6 with runners in scoring position with the lone hit coming from Nolan Arenado.
That is part of a disturbing trend for the Cardinals as they are 3-for-32 with runners in scoring position over the last five games (1-for-24 in the four losses).
- Tampa Bay was just 3-of-20 with runners in scoring position in the last three seasons but the Rays still went into Houston and took two of three games against the Astros.
Six of Tampa Bay’s last eight games went under the total.
A Tough Act for One of Newest Cardinals
Making his first 21 starts of the season with the lowly Chicago White Sox, Erick Fedde is familiar with a lack of run support.
The Cardinals scored just three times when Fedde made his first start for the Cardinals after a recent trade. His second start could be a challenge as well with Tampa Bay throwing one of the hottest starting pitchers in the second game of the series.
- Even after allowing four runs in five innings in his last start, Taj Bradley finished July with a 3-1 record and a 1.45 ERA with 31 strikeouts in 31 innings.
This will be Bradley’s first career start against the Cardinals while Fedde allowed seven hits and two runs with nine strikeouts in 8.1 innings when he pitched against the Rays on April 28.
Six of the last eight games for the Cardinals went over the total.
Who’s Hot
- Nolan Arenado, St. Louis Cardinals 3B: Arenado is 8-for-23 with three runs and three RBIs in his last six games.
- Hunter Bigge, Tampa Bay Rays P: Bigge has allowed two hits and no runs with three strikeouts in 2.2 innings in three appearances since being acquired from the Chicago Cubs.
- Kyle Leahy, St. Louis Cardinals P: Leahy has surrendered six hits and no earned runs in 6.2 innings in his last five appearances.
- Josh Lowe, Tampa Bay Rays OF: Lowe is 8-for-18 with four runs, two doubles, two home runs, and four RBIs in his last five games.
Who’s Not
- Jose Caballero, Tampa Bay Rays SS: Caballero is 0-for-13 with eight strikeouts in his last four games.
- Willson Contreras, St. Louis Cardinals C: Contreras is 2-for-18 with six strikeouts in his last five games.
- Kyle Gibson, St. Louis Cardinals P: Gibson has allowed 38 hits and 18 runs in 32.2 innings since the start of July.
- Jeffrey Springs, Tampa Bay Rays P: Springs surrendered six hits and two runs in 3.2 innings in his first start of the season.
Rays vs Cardinals Injury Update
Something to monitor in today’s MLB news is that first baseman Yandy Diaz is day-to-day for the Rays while pitcher Richard Lovelady is close to returning. Pitcher Ryan Pepiot is on the injured list.
#Rays hoping Yandy Diaz can return Tuesday after leaving game hurt. Plus notes on Bigge’s rough open, visiting #StLCards, numbers on strikeouts, streak and more https://t.co/1JhIM6OmQV
— Marc Topkin (@TBTimes_Rays) August 5, 2024
Pitchers Steven Matz and Lance Lynn join outfielder Michael Siani on the injured list for the Cardinals.
Rays vs Cardinals Betting Preview
Both the Rays and the Cardinals need to start stringing wins together to make noise in the pennant races. St. Louis is four games out of the final MLB playoff spot in the National League while Tampa Bay needs to make up 4.5 games to secure one of the wild card spots in the American League.
When considering MLB player props today, keep in mind that since the MLB All-Star break, Brandon Lowe leads the Rays with 17 hits, six doubles, three home runs and 11 RBIs while Paul Goldschmidt and Masyn Winn each have three home runs for the Cardinals.
Run Brandoned In pic.twitter.com/8DHO4POalf
— Tampa Bay Rays (@RaysBaseball) August 4, 2024
St. Louis is just 16-19 as a home favorite this season compared to an 18-16 mark for Tampa Bay as the road dog. The Cardinals have covered in just 11 of 35 games when favored at home. The Rays are 23-11 against run line as the road underdog.
Each of the last five games that the Cardinals played against American League teams have landed over the total as have eight of the last 10 home games.
The total is at 7.5 for Tuesday’s series opener. Four of the last six road games played by Tampa Bay went under the total.
- Tampa Bay is 13th and St. Louis is 20th in slugging percentage since play resumed after the MLB All-Star break. Will that result in the pitchers taking control in this three-game series?
For MLB betting news, odds analysis, and more, visit Point Spreads Sports Magazine.