Phillies vs Cardinals Prediction, Odds, Betting Trends & Probable Pitchers for NL Wild Card Game 1 MLB Playoffs

Phillies vs Cardinals Game 1 Info

2022 MLB Playoffs — NL Wild Card Game 1
No. 6 Philadelphia Phillies (87-75, 40-41 Away) vs. No. 3 St. Louis Cardinals (93-69, 53-28 Home)
Date: Friday, October 7, 2022
Time: 2:07 p.m. ET
Venue: Busch Stadium — St. Louis, MO
Coverage: ABC

The NL Wild Card round of the 2022 MLB Playoffs features a quartet of exciting matchups, perhaps none more exciting than the 6-seed Philadelphia Phillies visiting the 3-seed St. Louis Cardinals. The Phillies have had their fair share of highs and lows throughout the year, however, it's been more of the latter lately after losing eight of their last 12 games before the postseason.

Even though the Cardinals have had some recent struggles too, they're boosted by the fact that they're 13-6 over their last 19 home games. Throw in the fact that they're trying to win a championship in Yadier Molina and Albert Pujols' last season, meaning the Cards have all the incentive in the world to win Game 1.

Phillies vs Cardinals Odds & Spread

All MLB Postseason betting lines, odds and prop bets are from FanDuel Sportsbook.
Moneyline: PHI: (-116) | STL: (-102)
Spread: PHI: -1.5 (+150) | STL: +1.5 (-182)
Total: 6.5 — Over: (-124) | Under: (+102)

The Phillies enter this contest as a slight road favorite on the moneyline and spread. They are listed at -116 moneyline odds with +150 odds to cover the 1.5-run spread. The over/under on this matchup features a low 6.5 runs, notably because of the strength of the starting pitchers for each side.

Phillies vs Cardinals Prediction & Pick

The Cardinals might be the higher seed here, but I do expect the Phillies to steal a game this series. That might just end up being Game 1 due to starting pitcher Zack Wheeler's recent success against Philly. The 32-year-old righty has won each of his last three meetings against the Phillies, surrendering only one run on 10 hits over 22.0 innings for a 0.41 ERA.

Having said that, the Cardinals are led by NL MVP favorite Paul Goldschmidt and potential finalist Nolan Arenado. That's not even to mention Pujols, who's turned back the clock with five home runs, 15 RBIs and a .375 batting average over his last nine games.

I'm expecting an extremely close, low-scoring game here, however, the Cardinals stars will come up when it counts.

Final Score Prediction: Phillies: 2 | Cardinals: 3

Phillies vs Cardinals Probable Starting Pitchers

The Philadelphia Phillies will look to Zack Wheeler (12-7, 2.82 ERA) in Game 1 and the St. Louis Cardinals hand the ball to Jose Quintana (6-7, 2.93 ERA).

Phillies vs Cardinals Betting Trends

- Philadelphia is 4-10 straight up in its last 14 road games.
- St. Louis is 8-4 straight up in its last 12 games against the NL East.
- The total has hit the over in four of Philadelphia's last six games.
- The total has hit the under in eight of St. Louis' last nine home games against Phialdelphia.

Devon Platana is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Devon Platana also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username PepeSilvia0. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.