Guardians begin 3-game series with the Cardinals

Updated May. 26, 2023 4:00 a.m. ET

Associated Press

St. Louis Cardinals (23-29, fourth in the NL Central) vs. Cleveland Guardians (21-28, third in the AL Central)

Cleveland; Friday, 7:10 p.m. EDT

PITCHING PROBABLES: Cardinals: Matthew Liberatore (1-0, 3.00 ERA, 1.33 WHIP, seven strikeouts); Guardians: Shane Bieber (3-3, 3.08 ERA, 1.21 WHIP, 47 strikeouts)

FANDUEL SPORTSBOOK MLB LINE: Guardians -120, Cardinals +101; over/under is 8 runs

BOTTOM LINE: The Cleveland Guardians host the St. Louis Cardinals on Friday to open a three-game series.

Cleveland has a 21-28 record overall and a 10-14 record at home. The Guardians have gone 10-22 in games when they have given up at least one home run.

St. Louis has a 23-29 record overall and a 12-14 record in road games. Cardinals hitters have a collective .334 on-base percentage, the fourth-best percentage in MLB play.

The teams meet Friday for the first time this season.

TOP PERFORMERS: Josh Naylor is fourth on the Guardians with 12 extra base hits (five doubles and seven home runs). Jose Ramirez is 8-for-36 with three doubles, a triple, two home runs and five RBI over the last 10 games.

Nolan Gorman ranks second on the Cardinals with 23 extra base hits (10 doubles and 13 home runs). Paul DeJong is 8-for-34 with a double, four home runs and 11 RBI over the past 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Guardians: 3-7, .208 batting average, 4.39 ERA, outscored by 15 runs

Cardinals: 6-4, .245 batting average, 4.14 ERA, outscored opponents by seven runs

INJURIES: Guardians: Peyton Battenfield: 15-Day IL (shoulder), Triston McKenzie: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Aaron Civale: 15-Day IL (oblique), Cody Morris: 60-Day IL (shoulder)

Cardinals: Packy Naughton: 60-Day IL (forearm), Dylan Carlson: 10-Day IL (ankle), Tyler O'Neill: 10-Day IL (back), Jake Woodford: 15-Day IL (shoulder), Wilking Rodriguez: 60-Day IL (shoulder)

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.