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The Cleveland Guardians can look forward to postseason play after clinching a playoff berth Thursday.

Cleveland, however, still can secure the American League Central title and improve its seeding. The Guardians (89-65) will continue that bid when they visit the Cardinals (77-76) Friday night in the opener of a three-game series.

“This group of guys, we talk about it all year, they care about each other, they come together,” Cleveland manager Stephen Vogt said. “This is a hard game. Every night you go out, you put your body on the line, and your mind and everything, they stick to each other and they celebrate every win.

“Right on that first road trip (starting in March), we saw something special and that this team might be able to get it done. And now we’re in, and we have an opportunity.”

The Guardians roll into St. Louis after winning five of their previous six games, including the last two in walk-off fashion.

Cleveland will turn to right-hander Ben Lively (12-9, 3.87 ERA) to start the series opener on Friday. He scattered four hits over five scoreless innings in a 2-0 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays on Sunday.

Lively bounced back from being hit in the leg with a comebacker after retiring just six batters in his previous outing. He is 1-1 with a 5.87 ERA in three career outings (two starts) against the Cardinals.

The Cardinals won the first three contests of their four-game series with the Pittsburgh Pirates before losing 3-2 on Thursday. Brendan Donovan went 4-for-4 with a double and two RBIs in that game and is batting .400 with a 1.068 OPS in September.

“He’s locked in right now,” St. Louis manager Oliver Marmol said. “He’s taking some really good at-bats. … He just continues to take gritty at-bats. He’s staying inside the baseball and staying on the line and using the whole field.”

The Cardinals will start right-hander Kyle Gibson (8-7, 4.11 ERA), who is trying to finish his season on a high note. In his last three starts, Gibson has allowed just two earned runs on 12 hits in 19 innings. He has struck out 16 during that span, but he has walked three batters in each of his last two starts.

That lack of command cost him in his most recent outing, when walks and fielding mishaps behind him allowed the Toronto Blue Jays to score four unearned runs. He took the loss in a 7-2 setback on Saturday.

“It’s a team that, just from what I looked at, they do a good job of putting the bat on the ball,” Gibson said of the Blue Jays. “They’re a low strikeout team, pretty patient outside of the strike zone. … They did a good job of laying off some pitches and made me work there for those couple walks.

“It’s unfortunate how the outing ended, but overall I felt pretty good. I just wish I could have avoided those two walks there in the sixth.”

Cleveland is one of Gibson’s least favorite opponents. He is 5-10 with a 5.29 ERA in 23 career outings against the Guardians.

–Field Level Media