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The Cleveland Guardians (89-65) take on the St. Louis Cardinals (77-76) Friday in the opener of a 3-game set at Busch Stadium at 7:15 p.m. ET. Let’s analyze BetMGM Sportsbook’s MLB odds around the Guardians vs. Cardinals odds and make our expert MLB picks and predictions for the best bets.
Season series: First meeting; Cleveland won 2-1 last year
The Guardians took 3 of 4 from the Minnesota Twins, culminated by a 3-2 victory in 10 innings Thursday. OF Lane Thomas has been hitting the ball hard of late. He’s hitting .250 with a team-leading 4 homers and 13 RBIs over the last 15 days. Their magic number to clinch the AL Central is 3.
The Cardinals couldn’t complete the sweep of the Pittsburgh Pirates with a 3-2 defeat Thursday. In typical Cardinals fashion, 2B Brendan Donovan, hitting 5th in the order, went 4-for-4, and the 4 hitters behind him went 0-for-13. The next Cardinals loss will eliminate them from the postseason, as they’re 8 games out with 9 to go.
Pirates at Cardinals projected starters
RHP Ben Lively vs. RHP Kyle Gibson
Lively (12-9, 3.87 ERA) makes his 28th start. He has a 1.23 WHIP, 2.8 BB/9 and 7.1 K/9 through 142 innings.
- Last start: Win, 5 IP, 0 ER, 4 H, 1 BB, 2 K in 2-0 home victory Sunday against Tampa Bay Rays
- 2 career starts vs. Cardinals: 1-1, 6.39 ERA, 1.42 WHIP, 16 K in 12 2/3 IP
Gibson (8-7, 4.11 ERA) makes his 29th start. He has a 1.33 WHIP, 3.5 BB/9 and 8.1 K/9 through 159 2/3 innings.
- Last start: Loss, 5 1/3 IP, 1 ER, 4 H, 3 BB, 1 K in 7-2 defeat Saturday at Toronto Blue Jays
- Last 5 regular-season starts vs. Cleveland: 2-2, 5.19 ERA, 1.54 WHIP, 18 K in 26 IP
Who’s going yard? Here’s a breakdown of today’s best home run props with our top picks. Include the BetMGM bonus code SBWIRE to score a $1,500 first-bet offer.
Guardians at Cardinals odds
Provided by BetMGM Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list of MLB odds. Lines last updated at noon ET.
- Moneyline (ML): Guardians -105 (bet $105 to win $100) | Cardinals -115 (bet $115 to win $100)
- Run line (RL)/Against the spread (ATS): Guardians +1.5 (+155) | Cardinals +1.5 (-190)
- Over/Under (O/U): 8 (O: -115 | U: -105)
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Guardians at Cardinals picks and predictions
Prediction
Cardinals 3, Guardians 2
Moneyline
This is a pretty fair ML proposition because the Cardinals are still trying to win games. They’re removing prospect OF Jordan Walker late in games for defensive purposes, which is equivocally mind-boggling.
Gibson made 2 starts against Cleveland last year and did fairly well with 4 ER in 12 2/3 IP. I think the Cards take this one and stave off elimination one more day. Take the CARDINALS -115.
Run line/Against the spread
I’m going with KYLE GIBSON UNDER 5.5 HITS ALLOWED (-140) here. I considered his Over 4.5 K’s because he has fanned 5+ in 5 of 7 GS, but Cleveland is hard to K. Gibson has allowed 5 or fewer hits in 4 straight starts, and again, the Cards are trying to win. So I could see a quick hook in play.
Over/Under
It’s slated to be an 87-degree evening with a 5-mph breeze blowing in from right-center. The Cards are 2-8 O/U in their last 10, and the Guardians are 2-7-1.
There isn’t much to consider here, take the UNDER 8 (-105).
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