Cardinals Hope to Build on Win
The St. Louis Cardinals return home after a rough road trip to face the Philadelphia Phillies in the first of a four-game series on Friday night. St. Louis snapped a four-game losing streak with an 11-inning win over the Atlanta Braves on Thursday night and is in second place in the National League Central, 2½ games behind the first-place Milwaukee Brewers.
Philadelphia has won three of four and is in third place in the NL East, trailing the second-place Braves by 4½ games. These two teams played a back-and-forth series last weekend, so reading our in-depth preview of this series opener is essential to helping you bet online.
Let’s check the latest MLB news, stats, injury reports and MLB odds for Phillies vs Cardinals. We’ve plenty of MLB picks & predictions.
Phillies Begin Lengthy Road Trip
The Philadelphia Phillies just wrapped up a solid homestand, winning two of the three series played and going 5-4, including wins in five of the last seven contests. Now Philadelphia hits the road for nine games before the All-Star break.
Right-hander Zack Wheeler will take the mound for the series opener, bringing a 7-4 record and 2.66 ERA to his 16th start. Wheeler has 99 strikeouts in 88 innings. His last outing was also against the St. Louis Cardinals. He got the win after throwing seven scoreless innings on Sunday, allowing four hits while striking out five and walking one.
Outfielder Kyle Schwarber has been hot at the plate, hitting four home runs in the three-game series with the Washington Nationals. Schwarber is batting .224 with 12 doubles, 27 home runs, 56 RBIs and 59 runs scored.
Designated hitter Darick Hall had a big game on Thursday, going 2-for-4 with a double, a home run and two RBIs. Hall is batting .290 with two doubles, four home runs, seven RBIs and eight runs scored in just eight games played in the majors after being called up for the first time last week.
Cardinals Hope to Get Back on Track
The St. Louis Cardinals had a rough road trip over the last week, dropping two of three to the Philadelphia Phillies and the first three games of their series with the Atlanta Braves. But St. Louis finally broke through with a win on Thursday night to snap a four-game losing streak, and the Cardinals are hoping to build on that as they return home.
“It’s super meaningful,” St. Louis manager Oliver Marmol said of Thursday’s win. “We’ve gotten beaten the last couple of days here. They played good baseball. Today was good baseball on both sides. Today was a good one.”
Outfielder Dylan Carlson drove in the go-ahead run in the top of the 11th inning with an RBI single, capping a 3-for-3 night at the plate. Carlson is batting .257 with 17 doubles, two triples, five home runs, 24 RBIs and 26 runs scored.
First baseman Paul Goldschmidt is second in baseball with a .342 batting average and tied for second with 65 RBIs. The NL MVP candidate has 28 doubles, 19 home runs and 61 runs scored.
St. Louis will turn to veteran right-hander Adam Wainwright in the series opener on Friday. The 40-year-old is 6-6 with a 3.26 ERA in 16 starts, striking out 81 in 96.2 innings. Wainwright faced the Phillies in his last start on Sunday, taking the loss after allowing four runs on eight hits, including two home runs, over 5.2 innings, while striking out five and walking one.
Phillies vs Cardinals Head-To-Head
The Philadelphia Phillies will try to win the season series with the St. Louis Cardinals for the fourth straight time (the two teams didn’t play in 2020), as they head into this series up 2-1 in 2022. Philadelphia has won at least two games in each of the last three series it has played at Busch Stadium.
St. Louis last won the season series between these clubs in 2017, going 5-1 overall and 3-0 at Busch Stadium. The MLB lines for the series opener are with the visitors, as the Phillies are favored to earn the win on Friday night.
Phillies vs Cardinals Game Information
- Game: Phillies (44-39) vs Cardinals (45-40)
- Location: Busch Stadium, St. Louis
- Day/Time: Friday, 8:15 p.m. ET
- Phillies vs Cardinals LiveStream: MLB.tv
Phillies vs Cardinals Betting Lines
| Team | Handicap | Moneyline | Total | Team Total |
| Philadelphia Phillies Z. Wheeler -R | -1½ +145 | -123 | 7½ -115o | 3½ -130o 3½ Evu |
| St. Louis Cardinals A. Wainwright -R | +1½ -165 | +113 | 7½ -105u | 3½ -125o 3½ -105u |
Phillies vs Cardinals Prediction
The Philadelphia Phillies are playing confidently and just took two of three from the St. Louis Cardinals last weekend. Still, with Wainwright on the mound, there’s always the chance of a pitching gem, and we see him rebounding from a rough outing on Sunday to lead the Cardinals to victory.
When making your MLB picks, take St. Louis to get the win at home.
“The odds and predictions in the article are based on time of writing and publication. They may differ as to when the actual event takes place.”
