Zach Eflin will get the start for the Rays (68-46, 37-19 home) as they host the Cardinals (49-64, 24-31 away) at Tropicana Field. The Cardinals will give the starting nod to Miles Mikolas. Check out my prediction for game one of this interleague matchup between the St. Louis Cardinals and Tampa Bay Rays.

ST. LOUIS CARDINALS VS TAMPA BAY RAYS BETTING PICK

The Pick: St. Louis Cardinals +1.5 Runs

This game will be played at Tropicana Field at 6:40 ET on Tuesday, August 8th.

WHY BET THE ST. LOUIS CARDINALS:

  • Over their last ten games on the road, St. Louis is 6-4 against the runline.
  • In their last three games as the underdog, the Cardinals have put together a runline record of 2-1.
  • Miles Mikolas has done a good job at avoiding the long-ball of late, having not given up a home-run in each of his past two starts.

ST. LOUIS CARDINALS LOOKING FOR UPSET AS ROAD UNDERDOGS

Through 113 games, the Cardinals have a record of 49-64. This mark includes going 13-18-4 across their 35 series. Currently, St. Louis is 5th in the NL Central and have a 25-33 record at home while going 24-31 on the road. So far, the Cardinals have gone 33-44 against teams with above .500 records.

The Cardinals will turn to starter Miles Mikolas for their next game. Through 24 appearances in the 2023 season, Mikolas has an overall record of 6-7 with an ERA of 4.29 and a K/9 figure of 6.3. Additionally, he has posted a FIP of 3.76 and an OBP of .308.

Mikolas’ most recent start resulted in a quality outing, but the Cardinals still fell to the Twins 3-2. The right-hander gave up six hits and two earned runs over seven innings of work.

So far this season, the Cardinals’ has gone deep 156 times, placing them 6th in the league. Over St. Louis’ previous five games, they are 18th in runs scored, with their season average of 4.6 runs per game putting them 12th in the league. The Cardinals’ overall team batting average stands at .258 along with an OBP of .331.

Nolan Gorman has been the Cardinals’ top home run hitter over their last five games, with two long balls. For the season, he has hit 24 homers and holds a .245 batting average.

WILL THE TAMPA BAY RAYS TAKE CARE OF BUSINESS AT HOME?

This season, the Rays have played a total of 35 series and are above .500 at 19-11-5. On the road, Tampa Bay is 31-27 and 37-19 at home. Their overall record of 68-46 has the Rays sitting 2nd in the AL East.

Zach Eflin is having a successful season in 2021, boasting an impressive 12-6 record. The Rays will be sending him to the mound for his 22nd appearance of the year, and his ERA currently stands at 3.46. He has been striking out batters at a rate of 8.9 K/9, while also recording a FIP of 2.92 and an OBP of .254.

The Rays secured a victory in Zach Eflin’s last start, defeating the Yankees 5-2. The right-hander tossed six frames, giving up three hits and no earned runs to improve his record to W-L.

For the season, the Rays are 9th in batting average, hitting a combined .255. Over their last five games, they have hit .247 which is 10th in that span. Tampa Bay’s average of 5.2 runs per game puts them 4th in the league. In terms of home runs, they have gone deep 166 times and have a team slugging percentage of .445.

Over the last ten games, Wander Franco has been a major contributor to the Rays’ offense, leading the team in home runs with four and boasting a season-long total of 15. The young phenom is also batting .273 on the year.