On Friday, a series opener is on the schedule, with the St. Louis Cardinals (77-76) hosting the Cleveland Guardians (89-65) at 8:15 p.m. ET.

The Cardinals are an underdog (+120 on the moneyline) when they square off against the Guardians (-142). The Guardians will give the ball to Ben Lively (12-9) against the Cardinals and Kyle Gibson (8-7).

The Guardians knocked off the Twins by a 3-2 score in their last Game yesterday. Kyle Manzardo went 3-for-3 with a home run and an RBI to lead them offensively while Eli Morgan got the win after throwing one inning without giving up a hit or an earned run.

Yesterday, the Cardinals fell to the Pirates 3-2. JoJo Romero was the losing pitcher after he went 2/3 of an inning, giving up one earned run on one hit. Brendan Donovan led the Cardinals’ offense, going 4-for-4 with a double and two RBI.

Get ready for the Guardians vs. Cardinals with everything you need to know ahead of Friday’s baseball action, including viewing options.

Cleveland Guardians vs. St. Louis Cardinals odds and betting lines

MLB odds courtesy of BetMGM Sportsbook. Odds updated Friday at 3:16 p.m. ET. For a full list of sports betting odds, access USA TODAY Sports Betting Scores Odds Hub.

  • Favorite: Guardians (-142, bet $142 to win $100)
  • Underdog: Cardinals (+120, bet $100 to win $120)
  • Over/under: 8

Guardians vs. Cardinals: Live streaming info & game time

  • Game Day: Friday, September 20, 2024
  • Game Time: 8:15 p.m. ET
  • Stadium: Busch Stadium
  • TV Channel: Bally Sports
  • Live Stream: Fubo (Watch for free)

Guardians stats and trends

Guardians betting records

  • The Guardians have won 63, or 65.6%, of the 96 games they’ve played as favorites this season.
  • Cleveland has a record of 27-15, a 64.3% win rate, when favored by -142 or more by bookmakers this season.
  • The implied probability of a win from the Guardians, based on the moneyline, is 58.7%.
  • Cleveland’s games have gone over the total in 68 of its 154 chances.
  • The Guardians are 79-74-0 ATS in their 153 games with a spread this season.

Ben Lively (Guardians probable starter)

  • Lively (12-9 with a 3.87 ERA and 112 strikeouts in 142 2/3 innings pitched) gets the start for the Guardians, his 28th of the season.
  • In his most recent appearance on Sunday against the Tampa Bay Rays, the right-hander threw five scoreless innings while surrendering four hits.
  • The 32-year-old has an ERA of 3.87, with 7.1 strikeouts per nine innings, in 27 games this season. Opponents have a .242 batting average against him.
  • Lively enters the outing with nine quality starts under his belt this year.
  • Lively has pitched five or more innings in a game 21 times this season heading into this outing.
  • He will attempt for his third straight outing without surrendering an earned run.
  • He will face a Cardinals offense that ranks 24th in the league with 626 runs while batting .246 as a squad. It has a collective .388 slugging percentage (21st in MLB action) and has hit a total of 156 home runs (23rd in MLB).

Guardians batting stats

  • The Guardians have hit 175 homers this season, which ranks 13th in the league.
  • The offense for Cleveland has a slugging percentage of .394 this season, 17th in MLB.
  • The Guardians have a team batting average of .238 this season, which ranks 20th among MLB teams.
  • Cleveland has scored the 14th-most runs in the majors this season with 681 (4.4 per game).
  • The Guardians have an on-base percentage of .309 this season, which ranks 17th in the league.
  • Cleveland ranks fifth in MLB in strikeouts per game with an average of 7.4 whiffs per contest.

Cardinals stats and trends

Cardinals betting records

  • The Cardinals have been victorious in 39, or 49.4%, of the 79 contests they have been chosen as underdogs in this season.
  • St. Louis has a win-loss record of 9-16 when favored by +120 or worse by sportsbooks this year.
  • The Cardinals have an implied victory probability of 45.5% according to the moneyline set by sportsbooks for this matchup.
  • St. Louis and its opponents have hit the over in 70 of its 152 games with a total set by oddsmakers this season.
  • In 151 games with a line this season, the Cardinals have a mark of 77-74-0 against the spread.

Kyle Gibson (Cardinals probable starter)

  • Gibson (8-7 with a 4.11 ERA and 144 strikeouts in 159 2/3 innings pitched) gets the start for the Cardinals, his 29th of the season.
  • In his most recent outing on Saturday against the Toronto Blue Jays, the right-hander tossed 5 1/3 innings, giving up one earned run while surrendering four hits.
  • The 36-year-old has an ERA of 4.11, with 8.1 strikeouts per nine innings in 28 games this season. Opposing hitters have a .250 batting average against him.
  • Gibson is trying to record his 13th quality start of the season in this game.
  • Gibson will try to build on a four-game streak of pitching five or more innings (he’s averaging 5.7 frames per outing).
  • In three of his appearances this season he did not surrender an earned run.
  • He will face off against a Guardians team that is hitting .238 as a unit (20th in the MLB). They are also slugging a collective .394 (17th in the league) with 175 total home runs (13th in MLB play).
  • Among qualifying pitchers in MLB play this season, the 36-year-old’s 4.11 ERA ranks 43rd, 1.328 WHIP ranks 51st, and 8.1 K/9 ranks 37th.

Cardinals batting stats

  • The Cardinals rank 23rd in MLB action with 156 home runs. They average one per game.
  • So far this season, St. Louis ranks 21st in baseball, slugging .388.
  • The Cardinals have the 13th-ranked batting average in the league (.246).
  • The offense for St. Louis is the No. 24 offense in MLB, scoring 4.1 runs per game (626 total runs).
  • The Cardinals are 14th in baseball with an on-base percentage of .310.
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