Cardinals vs. Phillies starting pitchers: Who are projected starters in Wild Card series?

While the Philadelphia Phillies were quick to set their rotation for the Wild Card Round, the favored St. Louis Cardinals have had to make some tough decisions leading up to Friday's Game 1. First pitch is scheduled for 2:07 p.m. ET. The Cardinals have -130 odds to win this best-of-3 series while the Phillies are listed by DraftKings Sportsbook at +110. Here's a glance at each team's scheduled starting pitchers

Cardinals starting pitchers

Game 1: Jose Quintana
Game 2: Miles Mikolas
Game 3: TBD

Just a few weeks ago, veteran Adam Wainwright and left-hander Jordan Montgomery would have been considered locks to make the Cardinals' playoff rotation. But the former has been dealing with a case of dead arm recently, and the latter has posted a 6.64 ERA over his past four starts. Quintana is not overpowering, but he has allowed two or fewer earned runs in each of his first 12 starts as a Cardinal following a midseason trade. He could also contain Phillies' big lefty hitters, such as Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper. Mikolas has limited batters to a .193 average over his past nine starts.

Phillies starting pitchers

Game 1: Zack Wheeler
Game 2: Aaron Nola
Game 3: Ranger Suarez

Wheeler and Nola are no-brainer selections for the Phillies. Each workhorse ranks among the top 15 in FanGraphs WAR among starters with at least 150 innings this year. Suarez, a left-hander, has been much more up-and-down throughout the year. Since St. Louis leads MLB with .809 OPS versus southpaws, the Phillies are probably hoping this series doesn't go to a Game 3.

  
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