After taking the opener of this three-game Inter-league affair Friday night, the Guardians shoot for the series victory Saturday night in Cleveland. Rookie right-hander Tanner Bibee hits the hill for the home team here against Jack Flaherty for the Cardinals. Who do we like for our free StL/Cle pick?

MLB Betting Odds

Saturday's baseball betting market opened this game at right around a pick 'em, with an over/under of 8.5 runs. Both figures were holding steady in the early betting action.

Cardinals-Guardians Betting Preview

Cleveland grabbed the opener of this series Friday night, 4-3. The Guardians scored all four of their runs in the bottom of the fifth inning, three on one swing of the bat, then held on from there for the victory. Cleveland won Friday as a -115 favorite on the dime line, and the game was played under a total of eight runs. With Friday's win, the Guardians are still only 3-7 over their last ten games. At 22-28 overall, Cleveland sits in 12th place in the American League, although it's also only 3.5 games out of first place in the AL Central. With Friday's loss, St. Louis is still 10-5 over its last 15 games. At 23-30 overall, the Cardinals only trail first-place Milwaukee by five games in the NL Central. These teams last met back in 2021.

Saturday's Pitching Match-Up

Bibee is 2/5 on quality starts this season and two for his last two. Last Sunday, he held the Mets to two runs and seven hits, although he also walked four, through six innings of a 5-4 Cleveland loss. And just before that, he limited the Angels to one run and two hits through 7 2/3 innings of a 4-3 Guardians victory. Cleveland is 2-3 with Bibee this season but probably should be 3-2, based on his performances. A 5th-round draft pick just two years ago, Bibee earned a shot with the Big Club by going 10-2 with a 2.13 ERA and a 0.97 WHIP in parts of two Minor League seasons. This will be Bibee's first career action against St. Louis. Flaherty, by our strict standards, is only 1/10 on quality starts this year. Last Sunday against the Dodgers, he allowed three runs on four hits and four walks through only 4 2/3 innings of a 10-5 Cardinals win. And over his last three starts, he's allowed six runs and 14 hits through 16 2/3 innings, with 11 walks against 18 strikeouts. St. Louis is 6-4 with Flaherty this season, although that's at least one game better than it should be. Flaherty's last start against Cleveland came back in 2020 when he held the Indians to one run through five frames of a 2-1 Cardinals loss.

Splits With the Sticks

St. Louis is batting .257 against right-handed pitching this season, with a .333 team OBP and a .429 team slugging percentage. Cleveland is "slashing" .227/.298/.340 against right-handed pitching. Numbers like those cause us to rank this line-up among the bottom three in Baseball in this split.

The Bullpens

The Guardians bullpen owns a 3.28 ERA this season, along with a 1.18 WHIP and a 2.81 K/BB ratio. The Cardinals pen owns a 3.76 ERA, a 1.31 WHIP, and a 2.55 K/BB ratio.

MLB Betting Trends

St. Louis is 12-15 on the road this season and 16-23 against right-handed starters. Cleveland is 11-14 at home and 15-16 against right-handed starters.

Totals Report

• The overs are 28-24 in Cardinals games this season.
• The unders are 31-16 in Guardians games.
• The unders are a lopsided 18-5 at Progressive Field this season.