The Cleveland Guardian (89-65) take over the St. Louis Cardinals (77-76) Friday in the opening game of a 3-game set at Busch Stadium at 7:15 p.m. ET. Let’s check out BetMGM Sportsbook’s MLB odds around the Guardians vs Cardinals Opportunities and place your best bets with our expert MLB tips and predictions.

Season series: First meeting; Cleveland won last year 2-1

The Guardians won 3 of 4 against the Minnesota Twins, culminating in a 3-2 victory in 10 innings on Thursday. OF Lane Thomas has been hitting the ball hard lately. He has a .250 batting average with 4 home runs and 13 RBIs over the last 15 days, which is a team-leading number. Their magic number to win the AL Central is 3.

The Cardinals failed to complete the sweep of the Pittsburgh Pirates with a 3-2 loss on Thursday. In typical Cardinals fashion, 2B Brendan Donovanbatting fifth in the order, struck out 4 for 4, and the 4 batters behind him struck out 0 for 13. The Cardinals’ next loss will knock them out of the postseason, as they are 8 games back with 9 games remaining.

Expected starters for Pirates at Cardinals

RHP Ben Lively against RHP Kyle Gibson

Lively (12-9, 3.87 ERA) is making his 28th start. He has a WHIP of 1.23, 2.8 BB/9 and 7.1 K/9 in 142 innings.

• Last start: Win, 5 IP, 0 ER, 4 H, 1 BB, 2 K in Sunday’s 2-0 home win against Tampa Bay Rays
• 2 career starts against Cardinals: 1-1, 6.39 ERA, 1.42 WHIP, 16 K in 12 2/3 IP

Gibson (8-7, 4.11 ERA) is making his 29th start. He has a WHIP of 1.33, 3.5 BB/9 and 8.1 K/9 in 159 2/3 innings.

• Last start: Loss, 5 1/3 IP, 1 ER, 4 H, 3 BB, 1 K in Saturday’s 7-2 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays
• Last 5 regular season starts against Cleveland: 2-2, 5.19 ERA, 1.54 WHIP, 18 K in 26 IP

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Guardians at Cardinals odds

Provided by BetMGM Sportsbook; visit the USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds Hub for a complete list of MLB odds. Odds last updated at 12:00 p.m. ET.

• Moneyline (ML): Guardians -105 (bet $105 to win $100) | Cardinals -115 (bet $115 to win $100)
• Running Line (RL)/Against the Spread (ATS): Guardians +1.5 (+155) | Cardinals +1.5 (-190)
• Over/Under (O/U): 8 (O: -115 | U: -105)

Tips and predictions for Guardians at Cardinals

forecast

Cardinals 3, Guardians 2

Money line

This is a pretty fair ML proposition, as the Cardinals are still trying to win games. They remove the prospect of Jordan Walker late in games for defensive reasons, which is just unbelievable.

Gibson played twice against Cleveland last year and did quite well with 4 ER in 12 2/3 IP. I think the Cards win this game and can stave off elimination one more day. Take that CARDINALS -115.

Running Line/Against the Spread

I’m going with KYLE GIBSON LESS 5.5 STROKES ALLOWED (-140) here. I factored in his 4.5+ Ks because he’s hit 5+ in 5 of 7 GS, but Cleveland is tough to beat. Gibson has allowed 5 or fewer hits in 4 straight starts, and the Cards are trying to win again, so I could see a quick catch in the game.

Over/Under

It’s supposed to be a 90 degree evening with a 5 mph breeze blowing from right-center. The Cards are 2-8 O/U in their last 10 games and the Guardians are 2-7-1.

There is not much to consider here, take the Under 8 years (-105).

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