The Phillies sent shockwaves through St. Louis as the Cardinals completely collapsed in the ninth inning, blowing a 2-0 lead.
Game 1 of the NL Wildcard series between the Cardinals and the Phillies had a perfect narrative ready to go. Rookie Juan Yepez hit the first go-ahead pinch-hit home run in team playoff history. Albert Pujols and Yadier Molina had a youngster to thank for a victorious start to their final postseason.
Then the Phillies flipped the script.
A 2-0 ninth-inning lead turned into 2-1 lead after the bases were loaded and Ryan Helsley hit Alec Bohm to score a run.
The stunning collapse only got worse. Philadelphia poured on six runs as Cardinals fans looked on in shock.
Cardinals meltdown https://t.co/VEbJaA12op
— Pardon My Take (@PardonMyTake) October 7, 2022
Cardinals collapse vs. Phillies stunned MLB Twitter
Those on Twitter were in as much disbelief.
Cardinals fans haven't agonized over a Philly collapse like this since Election Night 2020.
— rich (@rich_roberts) October 7, 2022
Phils with 6 runs in the 9th💥💥
— John Clark (@JClarkNBCS) October 7, 2022
Cardinals are 93-0 with 2 run lead or more after 8th inning in their playoff history pic.twitter.com/LCUQ5qnoTk
The Cardinals, in the ninth inning, have become the 2012-21 Phillies. This is unbelievable.
— Matt Gelb (@MattGelb) October 7, 2022
The St. Louis Cardinals in fifteen minutes: pic.twitter.com/BM48Qxpu9i
— Schlasser (@UrinatingTree) October 7, 2022
The St Louis Cardinals in the 9th inning pic.twitter.com/QDkCq5jEpA
— Barstool Baseball (@StoolBaseball) October 7, 2022
I've spent decades hearing St. Louis fans gloat about "The Cardinals Way," like they invented baseball. Man, am I enjoying their meltdown.
— Glen Macnow (@RealGlenMacnow) October 7, 2022
Is this an all time choke job by the Cardinals right now?
— Ross Tucker (@RossTuckerNFL) October 7, 2022
cardinals fans leaving early in the 9th down 3 runs, after paying $1 for playoff tickets. truly the best fans in baseball pic.twitter.com/oUy5V2Fykq
— DOM (@DOM_Frederic) October 7, 2022
https://twitter.com/JClarkNBCS/status/1578499676013096960
Cardinals fans leaving early should have to serve a suspension for the rest of the postseason. Can’t have that. Anything can happen in October. Be better.
— Jared Carrabis (@Jared_Carrabis) October 7, 2022
Watching the cardinals collapse in the 9th inning pic.twitter.com/DwMQ1O4IZZ
— Morale Supply Co.™ (@moralesupplyco) October 7, 2022
Philadelphia came away with a 6-3 win, taking a 1-0 lead in the wildcard series. That outcome would have felt unbelievable just a few minutes before it all went down.
This was the first time the Cardinals have ever lost a playoff game with a 2-0 lead later than the eighth inning.
Where does St. Louis go from here? This is uncharted territory for the franchise. Fortunately it’s a three-game series.
The team needs to get their heads right before Saturday night when the Cardinals are expected to have Miles Mikolas on the mound against the Phillies’ Aaron Nola. That would have been the case either way, but now STL is unexpectedly going into Game 2 on the brink of elimination from the playoffs. A loss is the end of it all. That’s how quickly fortunes can change in the game of baseball.
If the Cardinals make it through Saturday, everything will ride on Sunday’s Game 3. The right to advance to NLDS to face the Braves is at stake.