Cleveland Guardians vs St. Louis Cardinals Betting Pick & Prediction 9/20/24
Ben Lively will start for the Guardians on Friday, as they are on a two-game winning streak and their record of 89-65 has them in 1st place in the AL Central. The Cardinals will be looking to end that streak, but they are the slight underdog on the money line (-114). Kyle Gibson will be starting for the Cardinals.
The over/under line for Friday’s interleague matchup is currently at 8.5 runs, and the forecast in St. Louis calls for scattered clouds and temperatures in the mid-90s. BSMW will be televising this one, and the game will get underway at 8:15 PM ET from Busch Stadium in St. Louis, MO.
ST. LOUIS CARDINALS VS CLEVELAND GUARDIANS BETTING PICK
The Pick: St. Louis Cardinals Moneyline -114
This game will be played at Busch Stadium at 8:15 ET on Friday, September 20th.
HOW TO BET THE GUARDIANS VS CARDINALS:
- We have the Cardinals winning by a score of 5 to 4
- If you’re looking for a run line pick, we also like the Cardinals to cover
- As for an over/under pick, we have this game finishing with 9 runs and like the over
Guardians Records & Stats
Cleveland is coming off a game in which they needed extra innings to pick up the 3-2 win over the Twins. The Guardians were the slight favorite at -107 on the money line at home. It was a big game for Kyle Manzardo at the plate, as he went 3/3 with a homer and a run scored. The Guardians also had three other players with a single hit.
Joey Cantillo got the start for the Guardians, going 4 1/3 innings, and giving up just one run on three hits. He only had three strikeouts in the outing and took the no-decision. Eli Morgan picked up the win out of the bullpen, and Cleveland’s closer, Bryan Shaw, earned the save.
Cleveland heads into today’s road matchup vs. the Cardinals having taken two straight games and are 89-65 overall. The Guardians lead the AL Central by 6.5 games over the Royals. So far, they have gone 30-22 in divisional games.
At home, the Guardians have been strong this year, going 48-28, and they are just above .500 on the road at 41-37. As the favorite, Cleveland has gone 62-33 and 27-32 as the underdog. Looking at their record as the road favorite, the Guardians are 21-12 this year.
When the Guardians are on the road, they have a run line record of 41-37, and their average run margin is +0.4 runs per game. They have covered the run line in three straight games and have a run line record of 34-25 as an underdog.
The Cleveland Guardians are on the road today against the St. Louis Cardinals, with the over/under line set at 8.5 runs. The Guardians’ games have averaged 8.3 runs per game this season, and their overall over/under record is 67-76. When their games have had an over/under line of 8.5 runs, they have a record of 20-20. So far this season, 29 of their games have had over/under lines set at 8.5 runs, which accounts for 18.8% of their games.
Right-hander Ben Lively is starting for the Guardians today as he faces the Cardinals on the road. Lively has made 27 starts this season and has a record of 12-9 with a 3.87 ERA. Looking at his overall numbers, Lively has a WHIP of 1.23 and has issued just 2.79 walks per nine innings compared to 7.1 strikeouts. So far, he has turned in nine quality starts and is coming off a game in which he didn’t allow a run in five innings of work. In that outing, he gave up just two hits. Lively has been much better at home, coming in with a record of 8-2 and an ERA of 3.96 compared to 4-7 with a 4.10 ERA on the road.
Jose Ramirez and Josh Naylor have been the Guardians’ top power threats this season, as Ramirez’s 35 homers are 7th in the league, and Naylor’s 31 long balls are 10th in the MLB. Ramirez also leads the team with 107 RBIs, which is 6th in the league, while Naylor is right behind him with 105 RBIs. Over his last eight games, Ramirez has gone 9/31, while Naylor has two homers in this stretch and is batting .258.
As a team, the Guardians are averaging 4.4 runs per game and are batting .238 for the season. They are 10th in home runs and have the 11th on-base percentage in the league. Cleveland comes into the game with a collective batting average of .429 over their last six games.
Cardinals Records & Stats
Brendan Donovan had a big game at the plate for the Cardinals in their most recent game vs. the Pirates, but St. Louis still took the loss. Donovan went 4/4 with two doubles, two RBIs, and a run scored. The Cardinals were the heavy favorite at -148 at home but fell behind early and couldnjson’t complete the comeback.
Erick Fedde started for the Cardinals, going six innings and giving up just one run on four hits. He only had three strikeouts in the outing and took the loss. The Cardinals’s offense scored their only two runs in the 4th inning and didn’t have another hit after Donovan’s double.
St. Louis is hosting the Guardians today with an overall record of 77-76, and they are 11 games behind the Brewers in the NL Central. So far, they are 26-26 in divisional games. The Cardinals are coming off a series win, taking three of four games from the Pirates.
At home, the Cardinals are 42-36 this season, compared to 35-40 on the road. As the underdog, St. Louis has been .500 this year at 40-40, and they are 37-36 when favored. Heading into today’s game, the Cardinals’ series record is 25-20-5, and they are 5-5 over their last 10 games.
The Cardinals have been a solid run line bet this season, going 77-76 overall. They are 39-39 against the run line at home and 38-37 on the road. They have been a good bet as the underdog, going 52-28 against the run line in those games. They have also been a good bet on the run line in their last two games as the underdog.
The St. Louis Cardinals are playing at home today against the Cleveland Guardians. The O/U line for the game is set at 8.5 runs, which is just below the combined run average of 8.6 runs for the two teams. The Cardinals have an O/U record of 71-78 on the season, and their games have averaged 8 runs per game. When the O/U line has been set at 8.5 runs, the Cardinals have gone over the total in 29 of those games. Overall, 22.9% of their games have had an O/U line set at 8.5 runs or higher.
Right-hander Kyle Gibson gets the start for the Cardinals today as he faces the Guardians at home. He has made 28 starts this season and has a record of 8-7 with a 4.12 ERA. Looking at his overall numbers, Gibson has a WHIP of 1.33 and opponents are batting .247 this season. In his 28 starts, he has turned in 12 quality starts. The last time he took the mound, Gibson gave up one earned run in 5 1/3 innings of work, but he took the loss in the outing. Before that, he had given up at least four earned runs in three straight starts.
So far this season, the Cardinals offense has been just 24th in the league in runs per game at 4.1. They have been slightly better at home, averaging 4.2 runs per game. As a team, they are batting .246, which is 10th in the league, and are also near the top of the league in terms of avoiding strikeouts. Their team on-base percentage of .310 is also 10th in the MLB.
Over his last six games, Brendan Donovan has gone 9/22 with three runs scored, one home run, and five RBIs. This has pushed his season batting average to .277, which is 2nd on the team. Alec Burleson and Paul Goldschmidt are tied for the team lead in homers this season, with 21 apiece.