Ah, what a lovely opportunity to break down the upcoming baseball gala between the Cleveland Guardians and the St. Louis Cardinals. Is it a gala? Not exactly, but it sure is more exciting with my flourishes.
We're revisiting the heyday of Ben Lively and Kyle Gibson, the starting pitchers for the Guardians and the Cardinals respectively. Lively totes a 3.98 ERA and a 1.27 WHIP with a respectable 7.3 K/9 in 27 appearances this season. Now, Kyle isn't far behind. He’s seen the mound 28 times this season and comes in with a slightly higher ERA of 4.18 and 1.34 WHIP, but wait, Gibson clocks in at 8.2 K/9 strides! wI’d say we are set for an alluring pitcher faceoff here!
Let’s take a look at the big guns in each dugout. For the Guardians, we spot Kyle Manzardo leading the charge with a .357 average, followed by William Brennan and Lane Thomas stepping up the RBIs game. I've got to admit, they are quite the trio. For the Cardinals, the tale of the tape sees Ivan Herrera swinging a solid .325 average, with the ever-terrifying twosome, Paul Goldschmidt and Brendan Donovan casting long shadows with the bat. Here's to hoping they don't give the Guardians' fielders too much leather to chase.
Remember that magical weekend back in late May 2023 when these teams last faced off? The Guardians had an edge in two of the three games, a crisply baked, fresh-out-of-the-oven, ever so slightly, wafer-thin edge.
Ahem, history aside, let's go back to the current season. The Guardians have been quite the sight, boasting an 89-65 win-loss record leading up to this game, whereas the Cardinals are stuttering ever so slightly at 77-76. But, hey, we cherish the struggle, don't we?
Casting our eyes over recent games, the Guardians seem to have sustained their form with a string of victories, while the Cardinals have experienced some turbulence but seem to be back on track.
The showdown at the Busch Stadium, which has been known to favor pitchers (a little secret between you and me), offers a fascinating set of possibilities.
Cranking all the numbers, assessing the stars, the teams, the venue, here comes my prediction:
Albert's Prediction: Cleveland Guardians by 1.