Pa Rowan Kauner
Posted by FOX Sports MLB
The most obvious advantage is entering the Wild-Card Series for the No. 6 seed Philadelphia Phillies against the division-winner St. Louis Cardinals was their opening pitch on the front line.
In a series of sweeps, Zack Wheeler and Aaron Nola demonstrated why.
Wheeler pitched 6⅓ scoreless innings in Game 1, Nola followed with 6⅔ scoreless innings in Game 2, and the Phillies’ first postseason appearance in 11 years will continue in the National League division after Saturday’s game. 2-0 victory at Busch Stadium.
These were probably the last hits of their illustrious career, Albert Puholz singled in the eighth inning and Yadier Malina did the same in the ninth. The Cardinals were also unable to achieve success, unceremoniously ending the career of the St. Louis legends.
“Two of the best to ever play the game, especially at their respective positions.” Bryce Harper, who returned home to start the scoring on Saturday, said before celebrating his team’s victory. “They will be the first players in the Hall of Fame. Those two guys will be missed in the game.”
The game’s only other run came in the fifth inning when Alec Bohm doubled, advanced to third base on a sacrifice bunt and scored on a sacrifice fly.
Which went well for the Phillies
The Phillies can struggle with the best of them, but it was their pitching that got them to the next round.
St. Louis had no answer for Nola, who had a combined 28 strikeouts and hits in 101 innings, and Philadelphia’s foul-mouthed bullpen rallied to hold the Cardinals scoreless over the final 2⅓ innings.
The Phillies bullpen was one of four extras in the majors with an ERA over 5.00 from September through the end of the regular season, but Jose Alvarado was the unit’s star at the end of the year. He posted a 0.43 ERA with an opponents’ batting average of .118 over his last 22 regular season appearances. Alvarado allowed two runs in the first game of the Wild-Card Series, but the Phillies still turned to him for two outs after Nola left.
Then he came Serantani Dominguez, who was one of the Phillies’ top high-leverage options before stumbling late in the season with triceps tendonitis. Walks were a worrisome issue for Dominguez, but he settled down when the Cardinals plated the eighth and ended the threat.
Zach Eflin, the starter for most of the year, became the Phillies’ de facto closer. He completed the win in Game 1 and earned the save in Game 2 with the tying run on base Tommy Edman jump out
What went wrong for the Cardinals
St. Louis’ surge to overtake Milwaukee in the NL Central was powered by an offense that ranked second in the majors in OPS and wRC+ in the second half of the season, but the Cardinals mustered just three runs in the series and went 1 for 11 with runners in batting position in two games.
Their most reliable hitters never came. Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado combined to go 1-for-7 in Game 1 and 0-for-8 in Game 2. They each had a chance to make the mark in the eighth inning. After Edmond refused, Lars Nutbaar was walking Dominguez came out to face Pujols, who ripped a single down the third-base line. Dominguez then struck out both Goldschmidt and Arenado to thwart the Cardinals’ best chance to strike.
The key moment of the game
Harper hasn’t looked his usual self since returning from a broken left thumb that cost him two months of the season. The Phillies superstar slashed .196/.288/.327 with three homers from the start of September through the end of the regular season, dropping his OPS from .985 to .877.
But his swing on a hanging breaking ball from the Cardinals starter Miles Mikolas in the second inning, it didn’t seem to have any effect.
Harper pulled a 435-foot no-doubt shot into right field. The blast hit 111.6 miles per hour, making it the third-fastest home run of the season, and drew the energy out of the tilt crowd after a ninth-inning collapse the night before.
What happens next
It will be a clash in the East in the NLDS when the Phillies face off Brave.
The sweep allowed the Phillies to make the save Ranger Suarez, so it’s likely he’ll start the first game in Atlanta. That would allow Wheeler to start Game 2 on regular rest, with Nola to follow.
Postseason baseball returns to Citizens Bank Park for the first time since the 2011 NLDS.
Rowan Kauner covers the Dodgers and the NL West for FOX Sports. He previously served as the Dodgers’ digital and print editor. Follow him on Twitter at @RavanKauner.
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