The St. Louis Cardinals (23-29) will be trying to continue their climb up the NL Central standings when they face the Cleveland Guardians (21-28) in the second game of their three-game interleague series on Saturday night.
Jack Flaherty, 3-4, 5.29 ERA, will get the start for the Cardinals. The Guardians will counter with Tanner Bibee, 1-1, 3.18 ERA.
Cleveland and St. Louis split their last 10 meetings.
**This preview was written before Friday’s game was played**
The Cardinals have played well over the past week and they’ve won four of their last six games. They will try to keep the momentum going with a win over the Guardians, which will give them their fifth win in their last seven games.
St. Louis is averaging 5.06 runs per game. Their .261 batting average is seventh in the league, their .334 on base percentage is fourth, while their .439 slugging percentage is fifth.
Nolan Gorman has been the big bat for the Cardinals. He leads the team with a .297 batting average, 13 home runs, and 40 RBI.
St. Louis’ pitching hasn’t been good, with the team giving up 4.79 runs per game. Opponents have a .268 batting average against the Cardinals, which is 27th in the league. Their 4.39 ERA is 19th, while their 1.45 WHIP is 27th.
In his last start, F laherty gave up four hits and three runs in 4.2 innings, but the Cardinals got a 10-5 win over the Dodgers. They will need a better effort from him if they want to get the win.