Game Information
St. Louis Cardinals (64-65) at Tampa Bay Rays (61-67)
Time: 6:35pm CT Friday
How to watch: FanDuel Sports Network
Probable pitchers: Miles Mikolas (6-9, 4.99 ERA) vs Adrian Houser (6-4, 2.67 ERA)
DraftKings Odds
Moneyline: Rays -144, Cardinals +118
Total: 9 (over -110, under -110)
Cards, Rays Play Game Two
The St. Louis Cardinals go for their third consecutive road series win when they face the Tampa Bay Rays tonight in the second of a three-game set.
The Redbirds exploded for five runs in the second inning last night on their way to a 7-4 victory that brought them to within a game of the .500 mark. The Cards somehow are still just 4 games behind the Mets for the final NL Wild Card spot, with Cincinnati trailing New York by just a half-game.
Mikolas Looks To End Road Woes
It has been a real struggle away from Busch Stadium this season for tonight’s starter Miles Mikolas. The veteran right-hander has a 6.47 ERA in 12 road starts this year. In his last 4 outings away from home, Mikolas has been crushed for 24 runs in just 17 innings (12.70 ERA).
He is backed though by an offense that is in good form right now, as the Cardinals have scored 36 runs over their last 6 games (6.0 runs per game).
Regression Has Come For Houser
Adrian Houser will get the ball for the Rays this evening. The right-hander has an ERA over 4 for his career, but he was terrific this season for the White Sox with a 2.10 ERA in 11 starts.
The regression monster has come for Houser though since being traded to Tampa Bay at the deadline, as he has a 5.17 ERA and 1.60 WHIP in 3 starts for the Rays.
My Pick
I think we are in for another high-scoring game tonight with two pitchers I don’t trust and a Cardinals offense that is in a groove right now.
This game is also taking place at a minor league stadium where the ball tends to fly in the summer in the hot Florida weather. In 28 games at this park since the beginning of June, there has been an average of over 10 runs per game.
I think this total is a half-run too low, so I would jump on the over 9 at the current price of -110.
Pick: Over 9 at -110 on DraftKings (bet to -125)
Eric Sontag hosts Domesticated Gamblers every Friday on the STL Sports Central YouTube channel. Follow him on X @GamblingDads, and click here for his daily picks on all of our St. Louis area sports teams. Picks = betting the game - minus odds betting to win 1 unit, plus odds risking 1 unit. Leans = no strong opinion, not betting the game. Disclaimer