St. Louis Cardinals vs Cleveland Guardians Preview
From Busch Stadium in St. Louis, we have the Guardians and Cardinals facing off in an interleague matchup. The Guardians are currently on a three-game winning streak and are 90-65 overall, while the Cardinals have lost two straight and are 3rd in the NL Central at 77-77.
Matthew Boyd will start for the Guardians, while the Cardinals are sending Miles Mikolas to the mound. Cleveland is favored on the money line, and the over/under line is at 8 runs. BSGL will be televising this one, and the first pitch is set for 7:15 PM ET.
Check out BetCoco for St. Louis Cardinals – Cleveland Guardians odds
St. Louis Cardinals vs. Cleveland Guardians Trends and Key Stats
- The Guardians are 4-1 in their five most recent road games, including a 4-1 runline record.
- On the other side, the Cardinals have gone 2-3 (SU) and 3-2 in their previous five home contests.
- The Guardians have a 7-3 straight-up record in their last ten games as the favorite, and 6-4 against the runline.
- When playing as the underdog, the Cardinals have gone 3-7 against the runline, with a straight-up record of 5-5 over their last ten games.
Cleveland picked up a 5-1 road win over the Cardinals in the most recent game of this series. The Guardians offense got off to a fast start, scoring three runs in the first and adding two more in the 2nd. As for the Cardinals, they scored their only run in the 4th. Heading into the game, the Guardians were at -101 on the money line.
Ben Lively got the win for Cleveland, going five innings and giving up just one run. Kyle Gibson had a rough outing for the Cardinals, taking the loss after going six innings and giving up three earned runs.
Jose Ramirez and Andres Gimenez each homered for the Guardians, while Lane Thomas scored three times and drove in a run while going 1/4. Ramirez, Gimenez, and Thomas were the only three Cleveland hitters to have more than one hit.
St. Louis Cardinals vs Cleveland Guardians Prediction
Cleveland is on a three-game winning streak, and they lead the AL Central with a record of 90-65. The Guardians are 7.5 games ahead of the Royals for the division lead. So far, they have gone 30-22 against other teams in the AL Central. Cleveland took the first game of this series vs. the Cardinals.
At home, the Guardians have gone 48-28 this year, and they are 42-37 on the road. As the favorite, Cleveland is 62-33 and 28-32 as the underdog. Looking at their overall series record, the Guardians are 28-15-6 this year.
When the Cleveland Guardians are on the road, they are a solid run line bet, going 42-37 this season. Their average run margin is +0.5 runs per game, and they have covered the run line in four straight games. They have been an underdog in 60 games, going 35-25 against the run line in those contests.
The Cleveland Guardians have been involved in a high-scoring season, with their games averaging 8.3 runs per game. Their over/under record is 67-77, and when the line is set at 8 runs, they have gone 13-20-6. The over/under line for today’s game against the St. Louis Cardinals is set at 8 runs, and the Guardians have hit the under in their last two games.
Cleveland is sending left-hander Matthew Boyd to the mound today vs. the Cardinals. Boyd has made seven starts this year and has a record of 2-1 with an ERA of 2.52. In his 35 2/3 innings of work, he has allowed just three home runs. Boyd’s WHIP for the season is currently 1.06. One of his three quality starts came in his most recent outing, where he went 2 2/3 innings vs. the Twins. Boyd finished with a no-decision in that outing. Boyd has finished with a no-decision in each of his last three outings.
Jose Ramirez and Josh Naylor have been the top power threats for the Guardians this season, as Ramirez’s 36 homers are 7th in the league and Naylor’s 31 homers are 12th. Ramirez is also 4th in the league with 109 RBIs, while Naylor is 6th in the league with 105 RBIs. Over his last six games, Ramirez has gone 9/24, while Naylor has gone just 5/23.
As a team, the Guardians are averaging 4.4 runs per game and are one of the better teams in the league at avoiding strikeouts. They are also one of the league’s top home run-hitting teams, but their team batting average of .238 is just 13th in the league. Currently, the team’s collective BABIP of .27 is the worst in the league.
With an overall record of 77-77, the Cardinals are 11 games behind the Brewers in the NL Central. St. Louis lost the first game of this series vs. the Guardians and have an even division record of 26-26. Currently, they are 3rd in the NL Central, two games behind the Cubs for 2nd place.
At home, the Cardinals are 42-37 this season and 35-40 on the road. As the underdog, the Cardinals have gone 40-40 this season compared to 37-37 as the favorite. St. Louis has been good as the home underdog, putting together a record of 15-10 this year. Looking at their overall series record, the Cardinals are 25-20-5 this season.
The Cardinals have been a solid run line bet at home this season, going 39-40 overall. They have been a profitable run line bet as the underdog, going 52-28, and have covered in two straight games overall. They have been outscored by 0.1 runs per game at home this season.
Today’s over/under line of 8 runs is right in line with the St. Louis Cardinals’ season average of 8.5 runs per game. The Cardinals have played 83 games with over/under lines set higher than 8 runs, which accounts for 53.9% of their games this season. Their over/under record when the line is set at 8 runs is 11-18-1, and they are currently on a two-game under streak.
St. Louis is sending Miles Mikolas to the mound today, and he has made 30 starts this season. Mikolas’ ERA is currently 5.49, and his record for the season is 8-11. Looking at his home/away splits, Mikolas has gone 7-5 on the road with a 5.05 ERA. At home, he is 1-6 with an 8.05 ERA. Overall, he has made 14 quality starts and is coming off an outing in which he gave up two earned runs in five innings of work. In that start, he didn’t give up a homer. Before that, he had given up a homer in three straight outings.
St. Louis comes into the game with the league’s 25th ranked scoring offense, averaging 4.1 runs per contest. This is a team that has been slightly better at home, averaging 4.2 runs per game. As a team, they are batting .246, which is 9th in the league, and are also one of the league’s best teams at avoiding strikeouts. The Cardinals are also near the top of the league in on-base percentage.
Over his last five games, Brendan Donovan has gone 8/18 with three runs scored and one home run. For the season, he is batting .275 with 13 homers. Alec Burleson and Paul Goldschmidt are tied for the team lead with 21 homers, with Burleson also leading the team with 73 RBIs. Nolan Gorman is 2nd on the team in homers but is batting just .203 for the season.
With the Cardinals at +116 on the money line, we see this as a great value pick for today’s game. Our predicted final score is 5-4 in favor of the Cardinals, giving them a lot of value at +116.
Looking at the starting pitchers, Miles Mikolas is projected to finish with four strikeouts, and we have him finishing with the third-worst among starters in terms of hits allowed. As for Matthew Boyd, we have him finishing with five strikeouts and second-best in terms of earned runs allowed.
St. Louis Cardinals vs Cleveland Guardians Betting Tips
- We like the Cardinals on the moneyline (+116)
- The Cardinals are also our pick on the run line at +1.5
- Projecting a combined 9 runs, we like the over
St. Louis Cardinals Injury Report
| Player | Status | Injury |
|---|---|---|
| Sonny Gray | Questionable | Undisclosed |
| Lance Lynn | Out | Knee |
| Willson Contreras | Out | Finger |
| Keynan Middleton | Out | Forearm |
| Drew Rom | Out | Biceps |
Cleveland Guardians Injury Report
| Player | Status | Injury |
|---|---|---|
| Alex Cobb | Out | Finger |
| Sam Hentges | Out | Shoulder |
| Shane Bieber | Out | Elbow |
| Trevor Stephan | Out | Elbow |
| James Karinchak | Out | Shoulder |
| Steven Kwan | Out | Back |
