Cardinals-Rays prediction: Picks, odds on Thursday, August 10

The St. Louis Cardinals (50-65) and the Tampa Bay Rays (69-47) will wrap up their three-game series on Thursday, August 10. First pitch from Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida is set for 6:40 p.m. ET. St. Louis will start Matthew Liberatore (1-4, 6.93 ERA), while Tampa Bay counters with reliever-turned-starter Zack Littell (2-2, 4.04).

The Rays are the -185 moneyline favorites at DraftKings Sportsbook. The Cardinals are the +154 underdogs, and the run total is set at 9.5. Once this series wraps, St. Louis will play a rare two-game weekend series against the Kansas City Royals beginning on Friday. Tampa Bay will stay at home and welcome the Cleveland Guardians to town for a three-game series starting on Friday.

Cardinals-Rays picks: Thursday, August 10

Injury report

Cardinals

Day-to-day: OF Tyler O’Neill (knee)
Out: RP Jake Woodford (shoulder), 2B Brendan Donovan (elbow)

Rays

Day-to-day: SP Tyler Glasnow (back)
Out: C Francisco Mejia (knee), 2B Taylor Walls (oblique)

Starting pitchers

Matthew Liberatore vs. Zack Littell

The lefty Liberatore will take the mound for the 11th time this season to make his 10th start. He was injured for about a month and got rocked in his return from the IL last week. Liberatore pitched 5.2 innings against the Minnesota Twins and allowed five earned runs on six hits.

Littell will make his 17th appearance and sixth start of the year on Thursday. He is typically used as a reliever but injuries to just about everybody in the Rays’ rotation have thrust him into a starting role over his last two outings. Most recently, Littell threw six shutout innings against the Detroit Tigers. He allowed three hits while walking and striking out one to earn his second win of the year.

Over/Under pick

The first two games ended with six and 10 runs scored, respectively. The Cardinals have scored four runs or fewer in four of their last six games. The Rays have tallied at least four runs in three straight games and eight of their last 10. Barring either team's implosion on the mound, this one should hit the under.

Pick: Under 9.5

Moneyline pick

St. Louis is struggling to string wins together. They have gone 4-6 over their last 10 games and haven’t tallied back-to-back wins since July 19-20. Tampa Bay is nearly on an opposite streak as they are 6-4 over their last 10 games and haven’t taken consecutive losses since Jully 22-23. The Cardinals won Thursday’s matchup 6-4.