The MLB playoffs are finally here! After a very anticlimactic last day of the season with everything already having been decided, today we are treated to all-day playoff baseball. There are quite a few interesting matchups on the board, and per usual in the playoffs, a lot of low totals. Managers tend to go their bullpens early and often at the first sign of trouble, as every run matters much more at this point. Being that this is the first game of all the series, we are seeing the aces for all teams. It should be an exciting wild card weekend, so let’s get into it.
Philadelphia Phillies @ St. Louis Cardinals
2:07pm EST
Starting Pitchers: Zach Wheeler vs. Jose Quintana
The Cardinals have opted to open their series with Jose Quintana, who is to be followed by Mike Mikolas. A bit of an unexpected move, as they have the ageless wonder Adam Wainwright and Jordan Montgomery both behind them. The former would have probably been my No. 1 and 2 starters, but maybe Oliver Marmol has a different plan envisioned and uses one in long relief if things get dicey early. Not to take anything away from Jose Quintana, who in his own regard has turned in quite a fine season. He enters the playoffs with a dazzling 2.01 ERA and also good peripherals sporting a 2.60 FIP and a WHIP of 1.117. His hard hit rate is down this year, and the ground ball rate is the best of his 11 year career. In his lone start versus the Phillies this year (albeit while pitching for the Pirates), he went 5.2 innings giving up 4 hits, 0 runs, while walking 2.
Zach Wheeler gets the nod for the visiting Phillies and also has had a nice season. He enters this contest with an ERA of 2.82 and peripherals of a 2.89 FIP, and a WHIP of 1.039. Wheeler relies mostly on his fastball slider combination, and will mix in a sinker and curve occasionally as well. Wheeler did hit the IL at the end of August with right forearm tendinitis, and has only pitched three times since returning. This is going to be a high leverage game, and the Cardinals lineup has been a top-five offense this season. A tough task for Wheeler as the Phillies fought until the end to secure one of the last wild card spots.
Both lineups have a ton of power in them, and a few swings could open the scoring here early. It’s going to be sunny and about 64 degrees at gametime, and I believe we see some runs here. I have this total closer to 8, so will gladly take a shot at the 6.5 that is widely available right now at the time of writing.
Best bet: Over 6.5 (-116) (LowVig)