It’s not a rivalry game, but the Sunday Night Baseball matchup between the St. Louis Cardinals and Philadelphia Phillies should be a good one. The clubs are similar in a lot of ways that you could probably have players switch uniforms and nobody would know the difference.
It wasn’t that way at the beginning of the season though. Since making a managerial change two months into the campaign, the Phils have played like the club most expected to see. They closed out June with a win over Atlanta improving to 19-8 for the month putting them in the thick of the wild card race with among other teams … the Cardinals.
Cardinals vs Phillies Date & Time
The NL matchup between the St. Louis Cardinals and Philadelphia Phillies takes place on Sunday, July 3, 2022 at 7:08 p.m. ET from Citizens Bank Park. The game will air live on ESPN with betting options for every game on the 2022 MLB schedule available at BookMaker.eu.
Cardinals vs Phillies Odds
St. Louis Cardinals (Check Back Later)
Philadelphia Phillies (Check Back Later)
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Season So Far…
While the Cards are in a familiar position near the top of the NL Central, we haven’t seen the consistency from them like we have in the past. They enter the weekend set a game behind Milwaukee with the division looking a lot like the NL East from a year ago, which is great news for the Cards. They just split a six-game homestand against the Cubs and Marlins, who both have losing records. That’s not good since their play at home is what has them winning 55 percent of their games. They closed the homestand tied for the most home wins in the NL.
While they’ve been strong at Busch Stadium, the Cards are just an average road team. They went 3-7 in 10 roadies ahead of this series and are 19-19 overall putting them down $86 on the moneyline. Their inconsistent play could have something to do with injuries. The pitching staff is working without one of the top catchers in the game with Yadier Molina on the shelf. And the staff itself is dealing with loss of John Flaherty. Led by Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado the offense has picked up the slack averaging 4.78 runs with a .254 team batting average. However, the numbers have dipped, much like the team’s record, on the road.
If a managerial change can produce results like Philly’s we’ll start to see it happen more often. The Phils were expected to compete for the NL East title and if they continue to play the way they have under interim manager Rob Thomson they just might get there. They were badly underachieving with a 22-29 record under Joe Girardi but turned things around immediately winning their first eight games under Thomson.
Pitching has been a big reason why with Sunday’s probable Zack Wheeler regaining the form that had him second in NL Cy Young voting last season. Also, Aaron Nola found his game giving the Phils a solid 1-2 punch at the top of the rotation. The offense could be hindered by the loss of Bryce Harper, but the club hasn’t let it affect them. They averaged 6.5 runs in the first four games without the former MVP cashing the OVER three times.
Probable Pitchers
A drink from the fountain of youth has Adam Wainwright (6-5, 3.07 ERA) back as the Cards ace. Just when it looked like the former 20-game winner was losing it he came up with a gem to reestablish his spot in the rotation. Waino was dominant last time out blanking the Marlins on seven hits over seven innings. It was the fourth time in 15 starts he pitched shutout ball over at least six innings. That outing shows the veteran can make adjustments and still pitch. In three previous starts he was winless with a 5.50 ERA and .300 OBA in 18 innings. Even when he’s not his best he gets back up. The Cards won eight of Wainwright’s last 10 starts averaging 6.5 runs.
Turns out this investment has been a good one for the Phils. Since joining the club ahead of the 2020 season Zack Wheeler (6-4, 2.89 ERA) has been masterful with an ERA below 3.00 in 57 starts. And he picked things up after an awful start. An injury affected him, but he was able to work through it. Over his last 11 starts Wheeler is 6-1 with a 1.84 ERA and 0.95 WHIP in 68.1 innings. He’s gone at least six innings in nine of those starts throwing shutout ball in four of them. When a bad outing for him meets the standard of a quality start you must be good. Wheelier allowed three earned in 6.1 innings last time out. In two previous starts after allowing at least three earned Wheeler is 2-0 tossing a combined 13.1 innings of shutout ball.
Cardinals vs Phillies Predictions
The Phils are a different team since Thomson took over. The names are the same but they actually look like they’re having fun out there. And the loss of Harper hasn’t affected them too much. Kyle Schwarber and Rhys Hoskins have supplied the punch and will continue to do so. Much like the team Wainwright has worse numbers on the road and facing Wheeler isn’t going to help them.
Prediction: Philadelphia Phillies / UNDER
