On the evening of September 20, 2024, the Cleveland Guardians are set to clash with the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium. The first pitch is scheduled for 8:15 PM under partly cloudy skies.

Ben Lively, sporting a 3.866 ERA, will take the mound for the Guardians. His counterpart, Kyle Gibson of the Cardinals, enters the game with a 4.115 ERA. The Guardians come into this matchup as the runners-up in the AL Central Division, boasting an impressive 89-65 record, and leading the divisional games with 30-22. They’re also riding a positive wave with a current two-game winning streak and having won seven out of their last ten games.

Meanwhile, the Cardinals hold a middle-of-the-pack position in the NL Central with a slightly above .500 record of 77-76. They’ve had a balanced divisional record of 26-26, and home field advantage at Busch Stadium where they’ve gone 42-36 this season. As they come off a loss, the Cardinals will be looking to turn things around in this game.

The betting odds for this game provide interesting insights. The Guardians are slight favorites with a point spread of -1.5. As for the over/under, it stands at 8.0, indicating expectations of a moderate scoring game. The moneyline odds see the Guardians at -104 and the Cardinals slightly more favored at home with -114. Betting trends might lean towards the Guardians due to their stronger recent performance and standing, but with both pitchers having similar ERAs and the Cardinals playing at home, it makes for a closely contested matchup.