Phillies vs. Cardinals Game 1 Prediction and Odds for NL Wild Card (Bet Offense with St. Louis Pitchers Undecided)
By Josh Yourish
The St. Louis Cardinals won the NL Central comfortably, but the Philadelphia Phillies had to sweat out the final wild card spot until the final week of the season. The Phillies eventually snagged it, consequently avoiding a three-gamer against their division rival Mets in New York. Instead they head to Busch Stadium to face the Cardinals.
Zack Wheeler gets the nod for the Phillies, while the Cardinals counter with lefty José Quintana.
Phillies vs. Cardinals Odds, Run Line and Total
Phillies vs. Cardinals Prediction and Pick
If I were manager Oliver Marmol, I’d have to ride with Quintana right now and that appears to be the plan.
He finished the year with a 2.93 ERA after allowing just three runs across six starts to close out the year. He hasn’t allowed more than one run in an outing since August. The problem is Philly’s lineup has the fourth best OPS against left-handers this season.
The options are Jordan Montgomery, who was excellent when he first came over from New York, but scuffled down the stretch, José Quintana who is absolutely the hot hand at the moment, the always reliable Adam Wainwright, Miles Mikolas or Jack Flaherty still working his way back from injury. They even have Steven Matz and Dakota Hudson who can start games in their bullpen right now. Marmol didn’t close any of those doors.
The options after Quintana include Jordan Montgomery, who was excellent when he first came over from New York, but scuffled down the stretch, the always reliable Adam Wainwright, Miles Mikolas or Jack Flaherty still working his way back from injury. They even have Steven Matz and Dakota Hudson who can start games in their bullpen right now. Marmol didn’t close any of those doors.
Zack Wheeler is a better pitcher than any of St. Louis’s options, but if there is anything I trust about these teams it is their lineups. St. Louis scored the fifth most runs this year and Philadelphia the seventh. With uncertainty on the mound, I’ll lean towards the over at seven with even odds, but it could drop once the pitcher for St. Louis is announced and provide even more value.
PICK: Over 7 (+100)
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