St. Louis Cardinals vs Philadelphia Phillies Game 1 Betting Prediction and Best Odds October 7

St. Louis Cardinals vs Philadelphia Phillies Game 1 Betting Pick: The Preview

WagerTalk MLB handicapper Andy Lang offers his analysis of Friday’s St. Louis Cardinals vs Philadelphia Phillies Game 1 clash at Busch Stadium. In the seven games played between the Cardinals and Phillies during the regular season, only one game totaled more than eight runs scored.

Friday, October 7	MLB Betting Notes, Courtesy of Caesars
Moneyline:	St. Louis Cardinals -108 vs Philadelphia Phillies -102
Runline:	Cardinals -1.5 (+180) / Phillies +1.5 (-210)
Total:	7 Runs (Over -100 / Under -120)
Game Time:	2:07pm ET / 11:07am PT
Where:	Busch Stadium in St. Louis, MO
Weather:	65 Degrees / Clear

St. Louis Cardinals vs Philadelphia Phillies Analysis

The Philadelphia Phillies travel to Busch Stadium to begin their three game National League Wild Card series against the St Louis Cardinals.

The Cardinals won the NL Central division to give them home field advantage over the Phillies who snuck in with the final Wild Card spot. The Phillies won the head-to-head season series by a narrow margin of 4-3.

The southpaw Jose Quintana will toe the rubber for St Louis while Philadelphia counters with the veteran righty Zack Wheeler. First pitch is scheduled for 2:07 PM EST/11:07 AM PST.

Phillies Land Final Wildcard

The Philadelphia Phillies ended the 2022 campaign with an 87-75 record good for the third and final Wild Card spot. The Phillies have qualified for a playoff spot for the first time since 2011. Philadelphia won their series at home against the Cardinals and split a four game set at Busch Stadium.

The Phills rank 7th in runs scored on the season and 18th with a team ERA of 3.97. Rhys Hoskins knocked the Cardinals around this season, going 9 for 25 with four RBI and an OPS above 1.200.

Zack Wheeler gets the nod in Game One against the Cardinals. Wheeler has a 12-7 regular season record with a 2.82 ERA and 1.04 WHIP across 153 innings of work.

He only pitched twice in September and once in October due to injury including five shutout innings in his last outing against the New York Mets.

Wheeler was dominant against the Cardinals this season with a 2-0 record across 14 shutout innings in his two outings against them. On his career, he is 3-2 with a 2.65 ERA in six outings. This will be Wheelers first post-season appearance.

Cardinals Ready For Next Step In Post-season

The St Louis Cardinals finished the regular season with a 93-69 record while winning the National League Central by seven games over the Milwaukee Brewers.

The Cardinals have qualified for the post-season for the fourth consecutive year, they lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National Wild Card game last season. St Louis ranked 5th in runs scored this season behind the power bats of Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado.

They had a team ERA of 3.79 that ranked 10th in the majors. A big part of that was the addition of Jose Quintana at the trade deadline. Quintana had the best season of his career with 2.93 ERA, 1.21 WHIP and 6-7 record across 165.2 innings of work.

He held the Phillies to 5.2 scoreless innings in his lone outing against them. However he has conceded 9 runs across only 13.1 post-season innings.

St. Louis Cardinals vs Philadelphia Phillies Prediction

The game is a pick’em with both sides set at -110 on the money line while the total sits at 7. There will be a ton of excitement surrounding this series, especially from the Philadelphia Phillies who haven’t seen the playoffs since 2011.

The Phillies had the series edge by a slim margin of 4-3 so you can’t take too much from that. Zack Wheeler has been lights out against the Cardinals this season and that’s something to take stock in.

He was absolutely dominant across 14 shutout innings for a perfect 2-0 record. He also has a 2.65 career ERA against St Louis in six total appearances.

Cardinals starter Jose Quintana has been sharp since joining the team but the Phillies have crushed left-handed pitching with a .769 OPS compared to a .727 OPS against righties.

The line reflects just how close this matchup and playoff matchups can be in general. But we can still find edges and take advantage of lesser odds where possible. I’m going with Wheeler & the Phillies on the money line to open this series with a victory.

Prediction: Philadelphia Phillies -102

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First Pitch | MLB Playoff Predictions for Friday, October 7

Join Drew Martin and a rotating panel of guests for First Pitch as we break down the daily playoff MLB slate from a betting perspective. Join WagerTalk’s team of MLB betting experts every weekday at 1:45pm ET / 10:45am PT for First Pitch as we discuss the baseball betting slate.

WagerTalk Live Odds Screen

WagerTalk’s Live Odds Screen features up-to-the-minute lines from a variety of offshore and domestic sports books. Track the MLB playoff moneylines, run lines and betting percentages for all of Friday’s baseball games, including this St. Louis Cardinals vs Philadelphia Phillies showdown, from your desktop or phone.

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Meet the Author

Andy Lang has lived in Indianapolis his whole life, and like most people from the Hoosier State, he became fascinated with motor sports. That interest in motor sports turned into a desire to make money off the sport through fantasy contests and sports betting. Like most, he took his lumps when he first got started, but now he is one of the most respected NASCAR bettors in the industry. Andy has expanded that sports betting experience to become profitable in a number of other sports, transforming this interest from a side hobby to a major source of income.

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