Tampa Bay Rays @ St. Louis Cardinals - August 7, 2024

Alright, folks! Buckle up because we’ve got an exciting showdown coming up at Busch Stadium. The Tampa Bay Rays are rolling into town to take on the St. Louis Cardinals in what promises to be a nail-biter of a game. As a die-hard fan of my home team, I can’t help but wear my lucky jersey as I type this preview—because today, I’m feeling good about the Rays pulling off a victory.

Let’s dive right into the pitching matchup first. For Tampa Bay, we have Taj Bradley taking the mound. Now this kid is having quite the season; he stands at 6-5 with an impressive 2.71 ERA. If you ask me, that’s nothing short of phenomenal. He’s been striking out batters left and right with an average of nearly 8.7 strikeouts per game! And I’m telling you—this guy has some serious stuff going for him.

On the flip side, we’ve got Erick Fedde starting for St. Louis with a win-loss record of 7-5 and a slightly higher ERA at 4.2 (rounded). While he isn’t necessarily pitching poorly, his numbers don’t quite stack up against Bradley’s stellar stats this season. With Fedde averaging just under 8 strikeouts per game himself, it’ll be interesting to see if he can keep pace with Bradley or if he’ll struggle against our formidable hitters.

When it comes to hitting, both teams have had their ups and downs lately but looking strictly at the numbers, there’s something that stands out here: Tampa Bay averages about 3.9 runs per game while St. Louis sits slightly higher around 4.2 runs per game—but hold on before you make your bets! The Rays have shown grit and determination in their recent games going 7-1 against the spread over their last eight matchups! That momentum is something we need to capitalize on.

Now let’s talk totals because I know everyone loves those juicy Over/Under lines! The oddsmakers opened it at seven runs total for this matchup which honestly seems low given how both offenses could explode any moment now—especially with players eager to make statements post All-Star break! So I think we’ll see more than seven runs being scored tonight; mark my words!

In terms of team trends, I feel compelled to mention that St. Louis struggled recently with only one cover in their last five games while also dropping four out of their last six overall—definitely not ideal for them heading into such an important matchup.

In summary? My prediction is pretty clear: Tampa Bay takes this one against St.Louis tonight—a nice little bounce-back from that tight loss earlier in August—and expect plenty of fireworks leading us comfortably OVER that total line too! Go Rays!!