The St. Louis Cardinals take on the Tampa Bay Rays in the first game of a three-game series on Tuesday, August 8. First pitch is scheduled for 6:40 p.m. ET from Tropicana Field. Miles Mikolas (6-7, 4.29 ERA) will take the mound for the Cardinals, and Zach Eflin (12-6, 3.46 ERA) will pitch for the Rays.
The Rays are -180 moneyline favorites at DraftKings Sportsbook, with the Cards coming in at +150. The total is set at 8.5.
Cardinals-Rays picks: Tuesday, August 8th
Injury report
Cardinals
Out: INF/OF Brendan Donovan (elbow), RHP Jake Woodford (shoulder)
Rays
Out: LHP Shane McClanahan (forearm), INF Taylor Walls (oblique), C Francisco Mejia (MCL)
Starting pitchers
Miles Mikolas vs. Zach Eflin
Mikolas was solid in his last game, conceding two earned runs in seven innings against the Twins. He struck out seven batters. He struggled against the Cubs at the end of July and recently served a five-game suspension after hitting a Cubs batter. He has not yet faced the Rays on the mound this season.
Eflin looked solid against the Yankees in his latest start, keeping them runless and recording five strikeouts over six innings. At the end of June, Eflin looked great against Baltimore, but struggled to contain the Marlins, conceding five earned runs in just four innings.
Over/Under pick
Both offenses have had some high-scoring games as of late, though the Rays have been somewhat more consistent on that end than the Cardinals. Both of these pitchers looked good in their latest starts, but struggled in the start directly preceding it, so I’m not betting on their consistency in this game. Let’s go with the over.
Pick: Over 8.5
Moneyline pick
The Rays won their latest series against the Tigers, and the Cardinals lost their series against the Rockies. The Rays have some good momentum going at the moment, and can take advantage of Mikolas’ struggles in road starts. With a home field advantage, I like the Rays to take the first game of the series.
Pick: Rays -180