St. Louis Cardinals at Tampa Bay Rays, MLB forecast
Win probability
Starts from the pregame forecast, then moves with the score and the time left after each inning. Above the line favors TB.
Game center
From the ESPN box score.
Top performers
Cardinals- Jordan WalkerBatting2-4, 1 RBI
- Matthew LiberatorePitching4.1 IP, 4 ER, 5 K
Rays- Junior CamineroBatting1-4, 1 HR, 4 RBI
- Ryan PepiotPitching5.0 IP, 0 ER, 3 K
Scoring summary
- 9Gorman singled to center, Burleson scored.2–7
- 7Walker singled to center, Burleson scored, Gorman to third.1–7
- 6Simpson tripled to center, Williams scored and Fortes scored.0–7
- 5Caminero homered to right (381 feet), J. Lowe scored, Williams scored and Simpson scored.0–5
- 4Morel homered to left center (399 feet).0–1
The pick
Reconstructed from what was known before the game: the ratings at that point and the closing line.
Rays 57%
Forecast Elo ratings alone
How often that comes true: MLB favorites the forecast gave 55–60% have won 55.5% of 2,596 graded games.
- Market
- TB 57%
- ML STL +120 / TB -145
- Pre-line forecast
- TB 57%
- Elo + market-implied
- Elo ratings
- TB 52%
- Ratings vs. market
- −4.6 pts
- TB: Elo 52.0%, market 56.6%
- Fair odds
- TB -130
- STL +130 · the forecast as odds, no margin
- Pregame projection
- STL 4.0 – 4.5 TB
- Margin from the forecast, posted total 8.5
How the number is built
Elo inputs in rating points (higher favors that team; 25–28 Elo is about a point of spread in football and basketball), then how the pieces combine.
| Factor | STL | TB | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Team rating | 1484 | 1499 | Elo entering the game; 1500 is league average |
| Home field | — | +18 | Worth 18 Elo in MLB |
| Starting pitchers | +8 | −11 | STL: Matthew Liberatore: team allows 0.39 fewer runs than with its usual starter (≈10 weighted starts) · TB: Ryan Pepiot: team allows 0.56 more runs than with its usual starter (≈10 weighted starts) |
| Elo ratings | TB +14 Elo | TB 52.0% | |
| Market-implied ratings | TB 58.1% | Team strength as past closing lines priced it, same game context | |
| Pre-line forecast | TB 57.2% | 15% Elo, 85% market-implied (log-odds blend) | |
| Forecast | TB 56.6% | Follows the market (vig removed): in testing, adding the ratings made it less accurate | |
Tale of the tape
This season coming into the game, regular season, each number with its league rank (the longer the bar, the higher). Home and road: the host's record at home against the visitor's on the road. Opponent Elo: how strong the teams each has played are, 1st the toughest.
| STL | Stat | TB |
|---|---|---|
| 15th of 304.4 | Runs scored | 4.514th of 30 |
| 23rd of 304.6 | Runs allowed | 4.314th of 30 |
| 20th of 30−0.2 | Margin | +0.213th of 30 |
| 24th of 303–7 | Last 10 | 5–515th of 30 |
| 20th of 3029–36 | Road vs home | 33–3320th of 30 |
| 5th of 301504 | Opponent Elo | 15049th of 30 |
| 22nd of 301484 | Elo rating | 149918th of 30 |
Rating history
Each team's Elo over the last two seasons. Hover or drag to compare on any date.
Recent form
Last five results, and whether the forecast hit.
Against the line
How each team has done against the closing spread and total, coming into this game.
| This season |  STL |  TB |
|---|---|---|
| Run line | 63–67 | 64–65 |
| Last 10 | 4–6 | 5–5 |
| Favorite | 22–39 | 23–41 |
| Underdog | 41–28 | 41–24 |
| Overs–unders | 69–61 | 57–72 |
| Overs–unders, last 10 | 7–3 | 8–2 |
Against each game's closing line. Books set every line knowing these records: across 3,901 past games, the team with the better record against the spread so far that season covered 51.2%, short of the 52.4% a standard −110 bet needs, and over/under streaks held 48.0% of the time. They describe the past.
Head to head
STL 5–3 TB in their last 8 meetings; the forecast called 5 of 8.