The Philadelphia Phillies (87-75, 83-79 RL, 80-75-7 O/U) collide with the St. Louis Cardinals (93-69, 86-76 RL, 79-80-6 O/U) in game one of the best-of-three NL Wildcard series on Friday afternoon from Busch Stadium. The Phillies will give the nod to Zack Wheeler. The Cardinals will counter with Jose Quintana. The Phillies won the regular season series 4-3.
Zack Wheeler will take the mound in game one of the series. Wheeler had another spectacular year and is well-rested. He only made two starts in September and one in October due to injury. He tossed five shutout innings against the Mets in his last regular season start last weekend. The veteran right-hander is sporting a 2.82 ERA and a 1.04 WHIP accompanied by a 12-7 record in 153 innings pitched on the year. Wheeler was dominant against the Cardinals this season, completing 14 shutout innings, earning the win in each performance. He is 3-2 with a stifling 2.65 ERA in six career meetings against the Cards. This marks his first career postseason outing.
The Phillies have qualified for the postseason for the first time since the 2011 season, landing in the 3rd Wildcard spot. They have pressure to win considering they have one of the largest team salaries. Philly was inconsistent late in the season but won three of four against the Nationals followed by a series loss to the Astros in their last two series. They won their home series against the Cardinals and went 2-2 in the four games at Busch Stadium this season.
Rhys Hoskins was a big threat against the Cardinals this year, going 9 for 25 with four RBIs and a dazzling 1.2 OPS. The 29-year-old slugger finished the regular season with 30 homers along with 78 RBIs and a .798 OPS. Hoskins was quiet in the last week, going 1 for 19 in October.
The Phillies are scoring an average of 4.61 runs, ranking them seventh overall. The pitching staff has logged a 3.97 team ERA, placing them 18th in the big leagues.