Tampa Bay Rays vs. St. Louis Cardinals, Picks and Prediction, Sunday, March 29, 2026
Use Code WWWC Tampa Bay (0-1) will be trying to avoid their first series loss of the season when they visit Busch Stadium on Sunday afternoon to face St. Louis (1-0) in the final game of their three-game interleague series at 2:15 PM. ET. Read on to find out which team picks up the win in this Rays vs. Cardinals prediction. Need a hot take on the MLB Season? Check out our Free MLB Picks and cash in.
Steven Matz will get the start for the Rays. He was 2-5 with a 3.05 ERA last season. The Cardinals will counter with Dustin May. He was 7-11 with a 4.96 ERA last season.
St. Louis is 6-4 in its last 10 games against Tampa Bay.
**This preview was written before Saturday’s game was played.**
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Tampa Bay Eyeing Playoff Run
The Rays finished fourth in the AL East last season and missed out on the playoffs. They retooled in the offseason and feel they have a team capable of making a playoff run, but they will have to be at their best if they want to make it out of one of the toughest divisions in the league.
Tampa Bay scored seven runs in their first game. They finished the game with a .395 batting average, a .460 on base percentage, and a .465 slugging percentage.
Nick Fortes led the Rays with a .750 batting average, while Jonathan Aranda led the team with one home run and two RBI.
Tampa Bay gave up nine runs in their first game. They will need a better performance from their pitching staff if they want to get the win.
In his last start, Matz gave up two hits and one run in five innings, leading to a 4-1 win over Houston. He is 0-3 with a 7.13 ERA in four games against the Cardinals.
Cardinals Going For Series Win
The Cardinals also missed the playoffs last season, but they’re off to a good start with a win in their season opener. They will try to keep the momentum going and pick up their first series win of the season when they play on Sunday.
St. Louis scored nine runs in their first game. They finished with a .378 batting average, a .375 on base percentage, and a .595 slugging percentage.
Alec Burleson had a big game for the Cardinals. He finished with a .750 batting average, one home run, and two RBI.
St. Louis gave up seven runs in their first game. They will need a better effort if they want to win this game.
In his last start, May gave up three hits and one run in three innings, leading to an 8-1 loss to the Guardians.
Rays vs. Cardinals Picks
Money Line Pick for Rays vs. Cardinals
- St. Louis Cardinals ML (4 Units)
The Cardinals have the edge here because they’ve hit the ball well so far, and they had a lot of success batting against left-handers last season. Matz was used primarily out of the bullpen last season, and he has struggled against the Cardinals, giving up 15 runs in three starts against them, so expect him to have a hard time slowing them down in this game.
Even though they played well offensively in the first game, expect the Rays to struggle offensively in this game because May did a good job on the mound for the Cardinals late last season, and he has also had some success against them, holding them to zero runs in his only game against them, so expect him to keep Tampa Bay’s offense in check. Take St. Louis on the money line.
Over/Under Pick for Rays vs. Cardinals
- Over (4 Units)
The Rays averaged 4.41 runs per game last season. They had a .259 batting average against right-handers, and they’re facing a starter who had a 4.96 ERA last season, and a team that gave up 4.65 runs per game last season. The Cardinals averaged 4.25 runs per game. They had a .249 batting average against left-handers, and they’re facing a starter who gave up 15 runs in his last three starts against them. Expect these teams to score enough runs to push the score over the total. The Cardinals and Rays played over the total in their last five meetings.
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