The St. Louis Cardinals (63-65) face the Tampa Bay Rays (61-66) in the opener of a 3-game set Thursday. First pitch from George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa is set for 7:35 p.m. ET. Let's analyze BetMGM Sportsbook's MLB odds around the Cardinals vs. Rays odds and make our expert MLB picks and predictions for the best bets.

Season series: First meeting; Cards won 2-1 last year

The Cardinals failed to complete a 3-game sweep at the Miami Marlins Wednesday with a 6-2 loss as slight +101 underdogs as the O/U total (8) pushed. RHP Andre Pallante (5 1/3 IP, 5 ER, 8 H, 3 BB, 4 K) got torpedoed again, and St,. Louis never found its stride. 1B Willson Contreras hit his team-leading 17th homer of the season as the Cards have lost 6 of 8 -- having lost 5 in a row before the Marl

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