St. Louis Cardinals vs Tampa Bay Rays Prediction & Picks - MLB
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by Bill Christy | in MLB Picks
Two teams that finished near the bottom of their divisions last year will be meeting to kick off the 2025 season in St. Louis on Thursday night. The Cardinals, who finished 78-84 last season, will host the Tampa Bay Rays. The Rays were a similar 77-85 last year and will already be without one of their offseason acquisitions in Gavin Lux, who is on the 10-day IL.
The Cardinals will throw Matthew Liberatore in this opener. Liberatore was 8-12 last season with a 4.21 ERA. While his numbers were not impressive, he did finish the year with two good starts against Cincinnati and Milwaukee. He pitched 11 innings in those games and allowed just 3 earned runs, and picked up the win over Milwaukee. Now, he will try to repeat those performances in this season opener.
The Rays will go with Drew Rasmussen on the bump. He was solid for the Rays last season and finished with a 10-win season while keeping his ERA under 3.00, 2.76 exactly. That marked the 5th straight season for Rasmussen with an ERA under 3.00, and that has earned him this opening role. In the field, the Rays will have veteran Cedric Mullins in center field, who came over from the Mets during the offseason. Between his veteran leadership and Rasmussen’s consistency, the Rays will have the edge here on the road.
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St. Louis Cardinals vs Tampa Bay Rays Form
Table
| Teams | Pts | P | W | L |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
4
|
0.588 | 80 | 47 | 33 |
|
11
|
0.525 | 80 | 42 | 38 |
St. Louis Cardinals and Tampa Bay Rays Latest Matches
5/6 (83%)
1/6 (17%)
Mar 22, 2026 - MLB Spring Training
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6/6 (100%)
0/6 (0%)
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3/6 (50%)
3/6 (50%)
Mar 22, 2026 - MLB Spring Training
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3/6 (50%)
3/6 (50%)
Mar 24, 2026 - MLB Spring Training
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4/6 (67%)
2/6 (33%)
Mar 21, 2026 - MLB Spring Training
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2/6 (33%)
4/6 (67%)
Mar 24, 2026 - MLB Spring Training
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St. Louis Cardinals against Tampa Bay Rays : Head to Head (H2H)
25 %
75 %
Aug 24, 2025 - MLB
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Aug 8, 2023 - MLB
St. Louis Cardinals - Tampa Bay Rays Key Points
- Tampa Bay is 9-3 SU in its last 12 games played in March.
- Tampa Bay is 6-2 SU in its last 8 games against an opponent in the National League.
- St. Louis is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games.
- St. Louis is 5-17 SU in its last 22 games against an opponent in the American League East Division.
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Our St. Louis Cardinals vs Tampa Bay Rays Prediction
We are going to back the strong arm of Drew Rasmussen in this contest. The Cardinals combined to bat under .250 last year and facing Rasmussen here in the opener will not do them any favors in getting that number up. It is never easy to pick up a road win to start the season, but this matchup lines up well for the Rays to do so here.
Our prediction for St. Louis Cardinals vs Tampa Bay Rays: Tampa Bay to win
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