St. Louis Cardinals vs Tampa Bay Rays Prediction, 8/8/2023 MLB Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: St. Louis Cardinals vs Tampa Bay Rays

Date: Tuesday, August 8, 2023

Location: Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, FL

TV: Bally Sports Sun

The Tampa Bay Rays (68-46) will take on the St. Louis Cardinals (49-64) at Tropicana Field on Tuesday. The starting pitchers are Miles Mikolas and Zach Eflin.

As a team, the St. Louis Cardinals are scoring 4.7 runs per game, which puts them at 12th in the league. They have a total of 525 runs while holding a team on-base percentage of .331. The Cardinals have earned 185 two-baggers as a unit and have hit 156 baseballs out of the park. They have 507 runs batted in as well as 988 hits for the year, and their average at the plate sits at .258. St. Louis owns a slugging percentage of .433 and have been rung up 929 times, while taking a walk on 379 occasions.

Get all of our MLB Betting Picks

The Cardinals hold a team earned run average of 4.55 so far this year (23rd in baseball), and their staff has struck out 889 batters. Cardinals pitchers have yielded 107 home runs and also 552 runs in total (24th in baseball). Their pitching staff has walked 375 batters and their FIP sits at 4.16 as a squad for the season. St. Louis has conceded 1,054 base hits (9.6 per 9 innings) as well as 500 earned runs. Their strikeout to walk ratio is 2.37 and their pitching staff has earned a collective WHIP of 1.45.

Cardinals pitchers have entered the game with runners on base 123 times and also have had 125 appearances in high leverage situations. The bullpen have tallied 55 holds for the season (17th in MLB). The Cardinals relievers have a save percentage of 51.0% and stepped onto the hill in 104 save situations. They have accumulated 25 saves so far this season and have not converted 24 of 49 save chances. The relievers have inherited 202 runners this year and 30.2% of them ended up crossing the plate. The Cardinals have sent 334 relief pitchers to the hill on the campaign.

The St. Louis Cardinals have earned a total of 2,965 putouts over the course of the season, as well as 1,069 assists and 43 errors. Their fielding percentage sits at .989 which is 2nd in the majors, and have 98 double plays. The Cardinals have converted 66.7% of balls hit into play into outs out of their 8,895 innings on the field, ranking them 30th in pro baseball.

Mikolas has taken the mound for 857 frames and has 630 K's so far in his pro baseball career. His earned run average is 3.79 (361 ER's allowed) and his WHIP is 1.173. He has given up 835 hits (8.8 hits per nine innings) with 171 walks. Mikolas (51-47 career record) has earned a FIP of 3.93 and he has gone up against 3,543 hitters in the major leagues.

The Rays hold a team slugging % of .443 and they are recording 5.16 runs per contest (4th in MLB). They have put up 194 doubles, while walking 364 times as well as racking up 583 runs. Tampa Bay has 163 home runs on the campaign and 560 RBIs. They have struck out on 976 instances (13th in baseball) and have earned 961 hits. The Tampa Bay Rays have compiled an on-base percentage of .327 and a batting average of .254 so far this year.

The Rays have a team WHIP of 1.184 in addition to having a FIP of 3.89 as a staff this season. They have a ranking of 1st in the league as a staff in total hits given up with 856. The Tampa Bay pitching staff have surrendered 440 runs so far this year while holding an ERA of 3.77 (418 earned runs given up). Their K/BB ratio sits at 9.10 (1,006 strikeouts vs 325 free passes). They have conceded 118 dingers and they give up 3.97 runs per 9 innings (1st in MLB).

Sitting with 96 save situations, the Rays have earned 49 holds and also 17 blown saves. Tampa Bay has had relief pitchers enter the game in 47 save opportunities and they have walked away with 30 saves. Their bullpen pitchers have come in 106 times in high leverage situations and on 83 occasions with base runners. Tampa Bay relief pitchers have an inherited score percentage of 24.2% of 128 inherited runners. They rank 16th in baseball holding a save rate of 63.8%, and they have sent 364 relievers onto the diamond for the year.

The Tampa Bay Rays have gotten 83 double plays and have notched a fielding percentage of .989 (3rd in the majors). The Rays have 1,022 assists, 45 errors and have amassed 2,993 putouts during this campaign. In 8,979 innings played, the Rays hold a defensive efficiency of 71.0% (3rd in pro baseball).

Thus far in his career, Eflin has surrendered 799 base knocks while he has accumulated 673 K's in 781 frames. Eflin (48-51 win-loss record in his career) has earned a 4.33 ERA and has surrendered 9.2 hits per 9 innings. He has allowed 376 earned runs while holding a WHIP of 1.249 and being the owner of a FIP of 4.1. He has a strikeout to walk ratio of 3.80 and he has gone up against 3,285 hitters during his MLB career.

Who will win tonight's MLB game against the spread or moneyline?

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Tampa Bay

Get $60 worth of FREE premium member picks. No Obligation. No Salesman. No Credit Card. Fast Sign up with Instant Access Click Here