St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Willson Contreras (40) runs the bases after hitting a home run against the Tampa Bay Rays in the seventh inning at George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa Aug. 21.

The St. Louis Cardinals (64-65) face the Tampa Bay Rays (61-67) in the second game of a 3-game set Friday. 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: Cards lead 1-0

The Cardinals won a slugfest Thursday 7-4. 1B Willson Contreras touched seats, well actually the scoreboard in center field, for his 18th homer. OF Alec Burleson went 2-for-5 with 2 RBIs as well. The Cards' offense can be sneakily potent as they've scored 7+ runs in 3 of 4 games and 4 of 6. Despite selling at the deadline, they remain 4 games out of a Wild Card spot.

The Rays got down 5-1 in the second inning, but battled back. DH Yandy Diaz pulverized his 21st homer before leaving with a right hamstring injury. He's day-to-day, but I'd be surprised if he's in the lineup Friday. The Rays have dropped 4 straight games and have allowed 6+ runs in each.

This 3-game series will take Saturday off and wrap up Sunday. Originally scheduled Friday through Sunday, these teams are off Saturday to avoid traffic congestion due to an NFL preseason Tampa Bay Buccaneers game.

Cardinals at Rays projected starters

RHP Miles Mikolas vs. RHP Adrian Houser

Mikolas (6-9, 4.99 ERA) makes his 25th start. He has a 1.30 WHIP, a 2.2 BB/9 and 5.9 K/9 over 122 2/3 innings.

  • Last start: No-decision, 5 IP, 3 ER, 4 H, 5 BB, 1 K in an 8-4 loss to the New York Yankees Sunday
  • 2 starts vs. Rays since 2015: 0-2, 2.40 ERA, 0.73 WHIP, 14 K's in 15 IP

Houser (6-4, 2.67 ERA) makes his 15th start. He has a 1.29 WHIP, 2.8 BB/9 and 6.4 K/9 through 84 1/3 innings with the Chicago White Sox and Rays

  • Last start: No-decision, 5 IP, 0 ER, 4 H, 0 BB, 6 K in a 2-1 win over the San Francisco Giants Saturday
  • Last 5 starts vs. Cards: 1-4, 6.75 ERA, 1.68 WHIP, 15 K's in 22 2/3 IP

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Cardinals at Rays odds

Provided by BetMGM Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 1:47 p.m. ET.

  • Moneyline (ML): Cardinals +115 (bet $100 to win $115) | Rays -135 (bet $135 to win $100)
  • Run line (RL)/Against the spread (ATS): Cardinals +1.5 (-190) | Rays -1.5 (+154)
  • Over/Under (O/U): 9 (O: -110 | U: -110)

Cardinals at Rays picks and predictions

Prediction

Cardinals 7, Rays 4

Moneyline

Despite absolutely no trust in Mikolas to keep the ball in the yard, I actually like the CARDINALS (+115) here. They saw Houser a lot when he was with the Milwaukee Brewers, and they put it on him. Houser also struggles against lefties, which the Cards boast a lot of. Lefties have a .284/.365/.446 slash line against him this year and have amassed 13 extra-base hits in 148 ABs vs. 10 in 166 ABs against righties.

Run line/Against the spread

Give me NOLAN GORMAN OVER 0.5 TOTAL BASES (-140). He went 2-for-4 Thursday and is 4-for-5 with a homer and 2 doubles off Houser.

Over/Under

We have similar conditions as Thursday when we smashed the Over. It's slated to be 87 degrees with a 7-mph breeze blowing out to right-center.

With these 2 starters, this is an easy OVER 9 (-110).

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This article originally appeared on Sportsbook Wire: St. Louis Cardinals at Tampa Bay Rays odds, picks and predictions

Reporting by Ryan Dodson, Sportsbook Wire / Sportsbook Wire

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