In the middle contest of a three-game bill, the St. Louis Cardinals and the Tampa Bay Rays will renew acquaintances Wednesday night. The host Rays took the first meeting between these two clubs in extra innings on Tuesday.
The Cardinals (32-24) are in the middle of an eight-game road swing that began with a five-day set against the rival Chicago Cubs. St. Louis, who is half a game back of Milwaukee in the National League Central, has won six of its last ten clashes.
Tampa Bay (32-23) is third in the American League East standings, trailing the leaders by eight games. The Rays have the second-most wins at home of any AL squad (19), behind the New York Yankees in that category, as well.
The offensive effort has been a collective one, with first baseman Yandy Diaz pacing the order with a .280 batting average. Center fielder Kevin Kiermaier has a team-high six home runs, while Ji-Man Choi has brought home 25 base runners.
Diaz, Choi, and left fielder Harold Ramirez are each hitting .307 or better at home. All but five of Choi’s RBIs have come in front of a friendly crowd. The trio has combined for eight home runs in its own venue.
Diaz has hit safely in half of his 16 at-bats over the last week. Right fielder Randy Arozarena has two homers over that same span.
Bay Rays vs Cardinals Odds
MLB odds have the Rays favored at Tropicana Field. Tampa Bay is -1.5 on the run line at +134, while the Cardinals are -162 to cover the spread.
On the moneyline, the Rays are -164 and St. Louis a +138 underdog. The total has been set at 7.5 runs, with the over being -115 and the under -105 at the time of this writing.
Taking into account recent Bay Rays vs Cardinals Odds, Cardinals’ first baseman Paul Goldschmidt is one of the hottest hitters in baseball as a whole.
He leads St. Louis in every major statistical category — including a .341 batting average, a dozen dingers, and 47 RBIs. Behind him is second baseman Tommy Edman, who is hitting .278 with 45 runs scored.
Five guys with at least 98 plate appearances are swinging their lumber for at least a .272 average, which has been a major plus for the Cards.
Third baseman Nolan Arenado and center fielder Harrison Bader are part of that quintet.
Matchup Information
Tampa Bay Rays vs St. Louis Cardinals Betting Preview
The visitors will trot out left-hander Packy Naughton on the mound. He’s made a pair of starts among seven appearances this season, the last being a 6-3 Redbirds win over San Diego. In that one, he went 2.1 innings, allowing two hits and a run while setting four batters down on strikes.
Naughton has a 3.09 ERA and a 1.11 WHIP. He has yet to pitch more than 3.1 frames at a time this year.
Across from him will be righty Corey Kluber, who owns a 3.73 ERA up until this point. In four of his last six outings, he’s gone at least six innings. One of those instances came against Texas last Thursday. He earned a decision by giving up only four hits and an earned run.
The Rays have come out on the right side of the 36-year-old Kluber’s last two starts.
Tampa Bay Rays vs St. Louis Cardinals Picks and Predictions
The guests came out on the short end of a closely-contested opener, but the same won’t go here.
Having the consistent Goldschmidt as a leader in the batter’s box is a huge help for a group of adept batters that includes newcomer Nolan Gorman. Naughton likely won’t throw for long, but he’ll do enough to outduel Kluber.
With these MLB picks today, go for the visiting Redbirds to set up a rubber match Thursday.
Get to betting on baseball and go with St. Louis to win this one outright.
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