At 8:15 PM ET, the Guardians and Cardinals face off in an interleague matchup. This one is being played at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, and the Cardinals are slight favorites on the money line (-114). The over/under line is currently 8.5 runs.
Cleveland will be looking to keep their two-game winning streak alive, as they are 89-65 and in 1st place in the AL Central. St. Louis is 3rd in the NL Central with a record of 77-76. Kyle Gibson is starting for the Cardinals, and he is facing off against Ben Lively for the Guardians. BSMW is carrying this game on TV.
Guardians Aim to Extend Win Streak Against Cardinals with Lively on the Mound
The Cleveland Guardians are on the road today to take on the Cardinals, and they have an overall record of 89-65, putting them in 1st place in the AL Central. They have won two straight games and are 6.5 games ahead of the Royals in the division. Cleveland is 30-22 against their division, and their overall series record is 28-15-6. The over/under line for today’s game is set at 8.5 runs, which is slightly higher than the Guardians’ combined run average of 8.3 runs per game.
Ben Lively will be on the mound for the Guardians, and he is 12-9 with a 3.87 ERA. Lively’s WHIP is 1.23, and he is coming off a win in his last outing. Overall, he has given up 23 homers this year. The Guardians’ offense is 14th in scoring, averaging 4.4 runs per game. José Ramírez is hitting .271 with 35 homers and 107 RBIs, and Josh Naylor is hitting .244 with 31 homers and 105 RBIs. Naylor has 2 homers in his last 7 games, and Kyle Manzardo is hitting .500 over his last 5 games.
Cardinals Battle Guardians with Playoff Hopes on the Line: Can St. Louis Edge Closer to the Cubs?
St. Louis is 77-76 and 3rd in the NL Central, one game behind the Cubs. They are 26-26 against the NL Central and 42-36 at home. The Cardinals are 25-20-5 in series this season and 37-36 as the favorite. As the underdog, they are 40-40, including 15-10 at home. Their run differential in wins is +2.8 and -3.5 in losses. Kyle Gibson is 8-7 with a 4.12 ERA and 1.33 WHIP this season, and he has 12 quality starts. Gibson is 6-3 with a 3.81 ERA on the road compared to 2-4 with a 5.07 ERA at home.
St. Louis is facing the Guardians today with the over/under set at 8.5, and the Cardinals have gone over the line 71 times out of 149 games. The Cardinals are 24th in runs per game at 4.1 and 21st in homers with 156. Alec Burleson leads the team in home runs and RBI, and Brendan Donovan is hitting .277. Donovan is on a 4-game hitting streak, and Iván Herrera has a 3-game hitting streak.
Betting on the Cardinals: Why -114 Money Line is a Smart Play
Getting the Cardinals at -114 on the money line is the way we recommend playing this one. We have the Cardinals winning this game by a score of 5-4. At -114, the Cardinals have an implied win probability of 53.3%, and we have this one closer to 55%.
Looking at the starting pitchers, our projections have Ben Lively going for the Guardians finishing with just four strikeouts, which is the lowest among all starters today. As for the Cardinals’ starter, Kyle Gibson, we have him finishing with four strikeouts as well.
