| MATCHUP | Tampa Bay Rays | St. Louis Cardinals |
|---|---|---|
| Team Records | 0-1 | 1-0 |
| Spread | -1.5 159 | +1.5 -194 |
| Moneyline | -108 | -112 |
| Total | Over 7.5 (102) | Under 7.5 (-122) |
| Where | Busch Stadium, St. Louis, Missouri | |
| When | Saturday, March 28, 2026 | |
| Time | 02:15 PM EDT | |
| TV | MLB.TV | |
St. Louis Cardinals Preview
The St. Louis Cardinals have a 1-0 record this season and are sitting on the first place of the NL Central. They are coming off a 9-7 home win over the Rays and their previous three games were a 3-2 road win over the Astros, a 7-4 home win over the Marlins, and a 4-3 road win over the Mets in spring training.
The Cardinals have a .378 batting average this season, .375 OBP and .595 Slugging percentage. St. Louis’ pitching staff has a 7.00 ERA and 2.56 WHIP. Alec Burleson is the team’s best hitter with a .750 batting average, also adding a team-high one home run. Nolan Gorman leads the team in RBI with 2.
Michael McGreevy (R) is the projected starting pitcher for the Cardinals, and last season he had a 8-4 record, 4.42 ERA and 1.25 WHIP.
Tampa Bay Rays Preview
The Tampa Bay Rays have a 0-1 record this season and are sitting on the last place of the AL East. They are coming off a 9-7 road defeat by the Cardinals and their previous three games were a 3-2 road loss to the Braves, a 7-0 road win over the Phillies, and a 14-1 road loss to the Blue Jays in spring training.
The Rays have a .395 batting average this season, .460 OBP and .465 Slugging percentage. Tampa Bay’s pitching staff has a 10.13 ERA and 1.88 WHIP. Nick Fortes is the team’s best hitter with a .750 batting average. Jonathan Aranda leads the team in RBI with 2, also adding a team-high one home run.
Joe Boyle (R) is the projected starting pitcher for the Rays, and last season he had a 1-4 record, 4.67 ERA and 1.37 WHIP.
Tampa Bay Rays @ St. Louis Cardinals Betting Trends: March 28, 2026
- Probable Starting Pitcher: Michael McGreevy Record this season: – ERA: –
- Home Record: –
- Last 5 against Rays: –
Why the St. Louis Cardinals will win
- The Rays have lost 11 of their last 12 road games against teams that held a winning record.
- The home team has won seven of the Rays’ last eight games.
- The Rays have failed to cover the run line in each of their last nine day games following a loss.
- The home team has covered the run line in each of the Cardinals’ last five games.
- The Rays have trailed after 5 innings in seven of their last eight road games against opponents that held a winning record.
- The Rays have trailed after 3 innings in each of their last four games at Busch Stadium.
- Probable Starting Pitcher: Joe Boyle Record this season: – ERA: –
- Road Record: –
- Last 5 against Cardinals: 0-1
Why the Tampa Bay Rays will win
- The Cardinals have lost each of their last 10 day games against AL East opponents that held a losing record.
- The underdogs have won 10 of the Cardinals’ last 13 games at Busch Stadium.
- The Cardinals have failed to cover the run line in each of their last 13 games as favorites following a home win.
- The underdogs have covered the run line in 12 of the Cardinals’ last 13 games at Busch Stadium.
- The Cardinals have trailed after 5 innings in each of their last seven games as home favorites against American League opponents.
- The Rays have won the first inning in each of their last three games as underdogs against National League opponents.
Total Runs Facts
- Five of the Cardinals’ last six games against AL East opponents have gone OVER the total runs line.
- Four of the Rays’ last five games against National League opponents have gone OVER the total runs line.
- The ‘Inning 1 OVER 0.5 runs’ market has hit in each of the Cardinals’ last nine games as favorites against AL East opponents.
- The ‘Inning 1 OVER 0.5 runs’ market has hit in each of the Rays’ last four games as underdogs against NL Central opponents.
St. Louis Cardinals Player Prop Facts
- Alec Burleson has hit a home run in two of his last three appearances with the Cardinals as favorites against AL opponents.
- Masyn Winn has recorded a Double in each of the Cardinals’ last four home games against the Rays.
- Masyn Winn has recorded at least one hit in each of the Cardinals’ last eight games as home favorites against AL East opponents.
- Victor Scott II ranked 10th in the league in Steals (34) last season.
Tampa Bay Rays Player Prop Facts
- Yandy Diaz has hit a home run in two of the Rays’ last three games as underdogs against NL opponents.
- Gavin Lux has recorded at least one hit in each of his last seven road appearances.
- Taylor Walls has recorded a Double in three of his last four road appearances against opponents that held a winning record.
- Chandler Simpson ranked T2nd in the league in Steals (44) last season.
Matchup/League Facts
- The Cardinals ranked 29th in the league for home runs last season (148).
- The Cardinals ranked T29th in the league for triples last season (9).
- The Rays ranked 1st in the league for steals last season (194).
- The Rays were one of only three teams in the league to have ranked top 10 in both strikeouts and walks allowed last season.
Rays vs Cardinals Prediction
The Cardinals are 6-3 in their last 9 meetings and 3-1 in their last 4 meetings in Saint Louis. Over is 4-0-1 in their last 5 meetings.
In this Rays vs Cardinals Prediction, both teams are coming at a pickem price. The Cardinals used an 8-run sixth inning on Thursday to get away with the home victory, but I don’t trust them today with McGreevy on the mound. Both bullpens gave up a total of 16 runs in the first game of the series and both pitchers struggled last season, as they have a combined 9.09 ERA. Boyle also gave up 5 runs in just 4 innings pitched in his only start against the Cardinals last season, so I expect a lot of runs today. The total is set too low at just 7.5 runs, so I will go over that number today.