The St. Louis Cardinals and Tampa Bay Rays finish their three-game series today. It is time to continue our MLB odds series with a Cardinals-Rays prediction, pick, and how to watch.

The Rays and the Cardinals have split the first two games of the series so far. In game one it was Zach Eflin going seven innings and giving up just one run for the Rays. Isaac Paredes hit a solo home run off Miles Mikolas in the seventh, as the Rays would score four runs, and take the 4-2 lead. In game two, Paul Goldschmidt the Cardinals struck back. After going down 2-1 on a Jose Siri two-run home run, Nolan Arendao tied the game in the third, and another single would give them the lead. Goldschmidt drove in two more runs in the fourth to give the Cardinals the 5-2 lead. Siri would hit his second home run of the game in the fourth, but it would not be enough, as the Cardinals took a 6-4 victory.

Today is the rubber match of the three-game set. Tampa Bay will be looking to become the third team in the majors this year to hit the 70-win marker, with the Braves and the Orioles.

Here are the Cardinals-Rays MLB odds, courtesy of FanDuel. 

MLB Odds: Cardinals-Rays Odds

St. Louis Cardinals: +1.5 (-134)

Tampa Bay Rays: -1.5 (+112)

Over: 9 (-122)

Under: 9 (+100)

How To Watch Cardinals vs. Rays

TV: BSMW/BSSUN

Stream: MLB.TV

Time: 6:40 PM ET/ 3:40 PM PT

*Watch MLB games LIVE with fuboTV (click for a free trial)*

Why The Cardinals Could Cover The Spread

In the last eight games, the Cardinals have scored six or more runs three times, and four or fewer five times. The result, when they are scoring six, they have gone 3-0. When they are not, they are 0-5. The offense can score runs, as they sit 12th in the majors in runs scored this year, while sitting seventh in batting average and slugging, and sixth in on base percentage. There have been quite a few guys who have gotten their August off to a solid start. Nolan Arenado is hitting well. In the last week he is hitting .333 with a .391 on base percentage. He has hit two home runs leading to him driving in three runs. Arenado has also scored four times.

Like Arenado, Willson Contrearas is hitting well as of late too. He is hitting .313 with a .353 on base percentage. He has a home run and three RBIs plus a double in the last week. This has led to him scoring twice as well. Paul Goldschmidt is not hitting as well, but he is still productive. In the last week, he has struck out seven times and is hitting just .231. Still, when he makes contact, it is producing. He has three RBIs in the last week and has scored a run. Strikeouts are a theme for Nolan Gorman as well. He has struck out eight times in the last week but is still hitting .318. Gorman has two home runs, both of them solo home runs and they are his only two RBIs in the last week. He has also scored three times in the last week.

Pitching has been the downfall of the Cardinals this year. they are 22nd in the majors in ERA while sitting 27th in WHIP and 29th in opponent batting average. The Cardinals are also 22nd in quality starts. The Cardinals will start Matthew Liberatore today. He is 1-4 on the season with a 6.93 ERA. He has struggled heavily in the last three starts. In July, he made just two starts early in the month before missing the rest of the month. He went 4.2 innings in those two starts, giving up seven runs, good for a 13.50 ERA. He did not perform very well in his first start back either. Liberatore went 5.2 innings against the Twins, giving up five runs and two home runs in a loss.

Why The Rays Could Cover The Spread

While the Cardinals' pitching has struggled this year, the Ray's pitching has been solid. They are fifth in the league in team ERA while sitting second in WHIP and first in opponent batting average. Still, they are missing some of their star pitchers due to injury and will need to figure out how to keep their pitching going while dealing with their absences. Today, the task of holding it together will start with Zack Littell. While he has been primarily used as a reliever this year, he has made four starts. In those starts, he is 2-1 and has pitched 16.1 innings, while giving up just three runs. That is good for a 1.65 ERA. In his last start, he went six innings giving up no runs in a win over the Tigers.

At the plate, the Rays have also been solid this year. On the year they are fourth in runs scored, ninth in batting average, eighth in on-base percentage, and fourth in slugging. Jose Siri leads the team in home runs and has still been slugging them as of late. In the last week, Siri has hit three home runs while driving in six runs. He is hitting just .250 but does have a .294 on-base percentage. Siri has also scored five times in the last week.

Coming in hot to this game is Wander Franco. In the last week, he is hitting .500 with a .545 on-base percentage. He has just three RBIs on two home runs, but he has scored four times. With the fact he has gotten on base 12 times in the last week, and two of those were home runs, it is a little surprising he has only scored four times. That means the ten times other times and he has only scored twice. Joining him in scoring four times in the last week is Yandy Diaz. Diaz has done this while hitting .375 and driving in a run. The Rays are getting on base at a .352 clip as a team in the last week, and if they can capitalize on that, they will score plenty of runs today.

Final Cardinals-Rays Prediction & Pick

While the Rays are sending out a player that is normally a reliever to start the game, he has done well in the starting role. Zack Littell gives the Rays the pitching edge in this match-up. The Rays have also been hitting better as of late. They are getting on base a lot, but just not fully capitalizing on those chances. They will today with Matthew Liberatore on the mound. Expect the Rays to hit a few home runs and take this one with ease.

Final Cardinals-Rays Prediction & Pick: Rays -1.5 (+112)