The St. Louis Cardinals (32-24) continue their 3-game set with the Tampa Bay Rays (32-23) Wednesday at Tropicana Field. First pitch for Game 2 of this series is set for 7:10 p.m. ET. Let’s analyze Tipico Sportsbook‘s lines around the Cardinals vs. Rays odds with MLB picks and predictions.
Tampa won the series opener 4-2 in 10 innings Tuesday thanks to a 2-out, 3-run walk-off, home run by SS Taylor Walls.
Season series: Rays lead 1-0
Cardinals at Rays projected starters
LHP Packy Naughton vs. RHP Corey Kluber
Naughton is 0-1 with a 3.09 ERA (11 2/3 IP, 4 ER), 12 H, 2 HR, 1 BB and 12 K in 2 starts and 5 relief appearances.
- Last start: No-decision in St. Louis’ 6-3 home win vs. the San Diego Padres May 30 with 2 1/3 IP, 1 ER, 2 H, 0 BB and 4 K.
Kluber is 2-2 with a 3.73 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, 1.4 BB/9 and 8.2 K/9 in 50 2/3 IP over 10 starts.
- Last start: Win, 3-1 Thursday at the Texas Rangers with 6 IP, 1 ER, 4 H, 1 HR, 0 BB and 4 K.
Cardinals at Rays odds and lines
Odds provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 1:59 p.m. ET.
- Money line (ML): Cardinals +120 (bet $100 to win $120) | Rays -145 (bet $145 to win $100)
- Run line (RL)/Against the spread (ATS): Cardinals +1.5 (-180) | Rays -1.5 (+145)
- Over/Under (O/U): 7.5 (O: -122 | U: -102)
Exclusive USA TODAY Network offer: Deposit $10 or more, get $200 in instant bet credits at Tipico Sportsbook! New customer offer in CO and NJ. 21+, see Tipico.com for Terms and Conditions. Place your legal, online sports bets at Tipico. Let’s make this interesting. Bet now!
Cardinals at Rays picks and predictions
Prediction
Rays 3, Cardinals 2
Money line
LEAN RAYS (-145).
More money in the betting market is on St. Louis, while more bets have been placed on Tampa Bay (per Pregame.com), which suggests the Cardinals (+120) are the sharper side hence the “lean.” Also, oddsmakers have lowered St. Louis’s ML from the opener in reaction to the market movement.
However, Naughton is serving as an opener for St. Louis’ bullpen day and Cardinals relievers are just 24th in FIP and 26th in K-BB%.
The other reason I only LEAN RAYS (-145) is that there’s more value in the Under.
Win your fantasy baseball league with BaseballHQ.com. For decades, BHQ has been helping players just like you win! Use the couple code SBW22 for 20% OFF full-season subscription. New customer offer; expires 6/30/2022. Subscribe today and start winning!
Run line/Against the spread
PASS.
I’m not confident enough in Tampa Bay -1.5 (+145) to sprinkle on the RL especially considering the Rays are 17-24 RL as favorites and the Cardinals are 16-11 as underdogs.
PASS.
Over/Under
BET 0.75 UNITS on UNDER 7.5 (-102).
The Rays are 10-16 O/U as home favorites and 2-8 O/U in Kluber’s 10 starts, while the Cardinals are 6-10 O/U as road underdogs.
St. Louis scores 1.33 runs fewer per 9 innings vs. lefties compared to righties and Tampa Bay’s lineup is last in both wRC+ and wOBA and 29th in WAR over the past two weeks, per FanGraphs.
Finally, Tropicana Field is one of the more pitcher-friendly ballparks in MLB and ranks 26th in park factor.
UNDER 7.5 (-102) is my favorite wager in this game and it doesn’t hurt that nearly 80% of the public is betting the Over (according to Pregame.com).
Bet legally online with a trusted partner: Tipico Sportsbook, Sportsbook Wire’s official sportsbook partner in CO, NJ and soon IA. Bet now!
If you’re looking for more sports betting picks and tips, access all of our content at SportsbookWire.com and BetFTW, or try out our USA TODAY Parlay Calculator. Please gamble responsibly.
Follow Geoff Clark on Twitter. Follow SportsbookWire on Twitter and like us on Facebook.
Additional MLB coverage:
BaseballHQ Fantasy Baseball
BaseballPress.com: Your source for every MLB lineup
Gannett may earn revenue from Tipico for audience referrals to betting services. Tipico has no influence over nor are any such revenues in any way dependent on or linked to the newsrooms or news coverage. See Tipico.com for Terms and Conditions. 21+ only. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER (NJ), 1-800-522-4700 (CO), 1-800-BETS-OFF (IA).
[lawrence-newsletter]
[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1372]