The St. Louis Cardinals and Philadelphia Phillies meet in Game 2 of the best-of-three Wild Card Series on Saturday. In Game 1, the Cardinals held a 2-0 lead late but then collapsed in the ninth inning, and the Phillies claimed a 6-3 win. That means the Phillies are one win from advancing to the NLDS, and the Cardinals face an elimination game in the second contest of the series.
The winner of this series will advance to the best-of-five Nationals League Division Series to face the NL East-champion Atlanta Braves.
You can view the full postseason schedule by clicking here, and here’s the 2022 playoff bracket. Now, let’s get to the important stuff for Game 1.
How to watch
Date: Saturday, Oct. 8 | Time: 8:37 p.m. ET
Location: Busch Stadium (St. Louis, Missouri)
TV channel: ESPN 2 | Live stream: fuboTV (try for free)
Odds: STL +100; PHI -120; O/U: 6.5
Starting pitchers: RHP Miles Mikolas (12-13, 3.29 ERA) vs. RHP Aaron Nola (11-13, 3.25 ERA)
Featured Game | St. Louis Cardinals vs. Philadelphia Phillies
Preview
Mikolas gets the call with the Cardinals’ season on the line. He faced the Phillies once during the regular season, back on July 11, and he fared very well: one run on six hits in 7 1/3 innings with five strikeouts and one walk. The Phillies’ offense this season didn’t fare as well against right-handers, but they of course have two dangerous lefty power bats in the lineup — Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber — who may dictate some early bullpen decisions, depending upon the situation. St. Louis manager Oliver Marmol has three lefty relievers on his roster for this series. Across the way, the Phillies’ other ace, Nola, gets the call. Nola struggled in his only start against St. Louis this season, as he allowed five runs in seven innings opposite Mikolas on July 11.
Also of note is that the Cardinals will surely be without closer Ryan Helsley in Game 2. Not only did he throw 33 pitches in the Game 1 loss, but he also underwent an MRI after experiencing numbness in the balky middle finger of his pitching hand.
Prediction
We’ll say Mikolas tames the Philly bats, and the Cardinals are able to scratch out a couple against Nola to force a decisive Game 3 on Sunday.
Pick: Cardinals 2, Phillies 1
