Rays, Cards look to make up ground in wild-card races

The St. Louis Cardinals travel to Florida's coast to face the Tampa Bay Rays for this first time this season in a three-game series that opens Thursday night.

Saturday's matchup, originally the second contest of the series, was moved to Thursday and became the opener to avoid the conflict of playing at the same time as a preseason game pitting the host Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Buffalo Bills.

That shift is not the seismic one that St. Louis and Tampa Bay need to adjust their mediocre seasons.

Both clubs find themselves ironically in the same situation, and one word comes to mind regarding this interleague series: sweep. That's likely the only acceptable result for these teams with the clock ticking on their respective seasons.

The Rays are five games under .500 through 127 contests and 6 1/2 games out of the third wild-card spot in the American League. They've lost three in a row, including the past two to the New York Yankees.

On Wednesday, Tampa Bay was held off base by Yankees starter Cam Schlittler through six perfect innings, then rallied to tie the game with two runs in the ninth on a two-out double by rookie Hunter Feduccia. The drive struck the top of the center field wall and nearly went out for a walk-off, three-run homer.

The Yankees then scored three runs in the 10th and held on to win 6-4 with a pair of homers off closer Pete Fairbanks. The Yankees hit five on Wednesday after slugging nine in their win on Tuesday.

"It's amazing how many balls have gone out over two days, and that one didn't get out. That is unfortunate," manager Kevin Cash said of Feduccia's double.

Five games back in the wild-card race, St. Louis sits two games under .500. The Cardinals could not finish the sweep Wednesday in Miami against the Marlins in a 6-2 setback.

The teams have dug themselves a mammoth hole in their last season of their current regime.

Change looms largely in St. Louis.

Former Tampa Bay senior vice president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom, a member of the Cardinals' front office, is set to become the successor to John Mozeliak as president of baseball operations once the season ends.

Manager Oliver Marmol surely feels the heat from the brass and an angry but devoted fanbase.

"My faith is very important to me," said Marmol, the St. Louis skipper since 2022. "If I'm supposed to have this seat, then I'll have it. And if I'm not supposed to have it, there's not a person in the world that can keep me here.

"So, I don't spend any time thinking about what if. It doesn't matter."

Marmol will start Sonny Gray (11-6, 4.30) on Thursday. The right-hander lost to the Yankees in his most recent outing on Saturday, allowing six runs on nine hits, including homers by Aaron Judge and Ben Rice, over five innings.

In 16 career appearances (14 starts) against the Rays, Gray is 5-6 with a 4.07 ERA. Tampa Bay has hit .263 against the 13-year veteran.

Tampa Bay right-hander Joe Boyle (1-2, 4.68) will make his 10th appearance and sixth start this season. He will be facing the Cardinals for the first time.

--Field Level Media