The Tampa Bay Rays meet the St. Louis Cardinals in the second of their three-game season-opening interleague series on Saturday. St. Louis defeated Tampa Bay 9-7 on Thursday afternoon. The Rays (0-1), who finished fourth in the American League East in 2025 at 77-85, were 36-45 on the road last season. The Cardinals (1-0), who finished fourth in the National League Central at 78-84, were 44-37 on their home field.

First pitch from Busch Stadium in St. Louis is set for 2:15 p.m. ET. St. Louis is a -111 favorite on the money line (risk $111 to win $100) in the latest Cardinals vs. Rays odds from DraftKings Sportsbook, while the total number of runs Vegas thinks will be scored, or the over/under, is 7.5. Before making any Rays vs. Cardinals picks, be sure to see the Rays vs. Cardinals predictions and betting advice from SportsLine’s proven computer model. 

New users can claim a special offer by signing up for DraftKings Sportsbook. Visit our DraftKings promo code review right now to see their latest offers and get started.

The SportsLine Projection Model simulates every MLB game 10,000 times. It was a profitable 35-29 on top-rated MLB money-line picks last season. It also excelled making home run prop picks in 2025, returning nearly 30 units of profit. Anybody following its MLB betting picks at sportsbooks and on betting sites could have seen strong returns.    

Now, the model has set its sights on Rays vs. Cardinals and just locked in its picks and MLB predictions. You can head to SportsLine now to see the model’s picks. Here are several MLB odds and betting lines for Cardinals vs. Rays:

New to sports betting? Visit our FanDuel promo code review right now to see their latest offers and get started. 

Top Rays vs. Cardinals predictions 

After 10,000 simulations of Rays vs. Cardinals, the model is going Over 7.5 combined runs. Tampa Bay had the ninth-best batting average among all MLB teams last season at .251. Most of the Rays’ top hitters are back, including Jonathan Aranda, Yandy Diaz, Brandon Lowe and Josh Lowe. The Cardinals, meanwhile, ranked 17th in MLB in batting average last year at .245. Top hitters include Alec Burleson, Masyn Winn and Lars Nootbaar.

SportsLine’s model projects more than 1.5 total bases for Junior Caminero, Aranda and Diaz for Tampa Bay. St. Louis, meanwhile, is projected to get around 1.5 total bases from Burleson and Winn. The model projects 9.4 combined runs scored on average as the average hits 67% of the time. Get the Rays vs. Cardinals money-line pick at SportsLine.

How to make Cardinals vs. Rays picks

After simulating every pitch of Cardinals vs. Rays 10,000 times, the model also says one side of the money line has all the value. You can get that pick at SportsLine. 

So who wins Cardinals vs. Rays, and which side of the money line has all the value? Visit SportsLine now to see which side you need to jump on, all from the model that has crushed its MLB picks, and find out.