It's the Cardinals
ATLANTA — After a long night of dramatic baseball, the Phillies know their first postseason opponent. And it's the team that gave them the most trouble during the regular season.
It's the Cardinals
Matt Gelb, Inquirer Staff Writer
ATLANTA — After a long night of dramatic baseball, the Phillies know their first postseason opponent. And it's the team that gave them the most trouble during the regular season.
The St. Louis Cardinals will head to Citizens Bank Park to face the Phillies in the division series that begins Saturday. St. Louis won six of nine games against the Phillies during the regular season and was the team that started an eight-game Phillies tailspin near the end.
"We played them nine times and they're a challenge for us," Charlie Manuel said. "They have good hitters and, at times, they can be a little weak on defense. Their bullpen has talent, big arms, but they were kind of inconsistent. It was kind of a weakness so far, but they do have a lot of talent, so you never know when their bullpen is going to be good."
But the Phillies are riding a four-game winning streak, just played in a postseason atmosphere while eliminating the Braves, and are undefeated with their regular lineup -- which faced St. Louis twice (both wins) in 2011. They also have their pitching staff lined up better than the Cardinals, who had to use Chris Carpenter to win Game 162 just to qualify for the postseason.
"They're an extremely hot team," Hunter Pence said. "They have a great baseball mind in La Russa. He's been managing longer than I've been alive. It's going to be a good series. It's going to be good baseball. That's what the playoffs are about."
"They're playing good right now," Brad Lidge said. "That's always a factor. They have a real good offense."
Ultimately, any of the three teams the Phillies would have to face in the first round are challenging. Both Milwaukee and Arizona played well in the final weeks.
The pitching matchups figure to look like this:
Saturday, Game 1: RHP Roy Halladay vs. LHP Jaime Garcia
Sunday, Game 2: LHP Cliff Lee vs. RHP Kyle Lohse
Tuesday, Game 3: LHP Cole Hamels vs. RHP Chris Carpenter
*Wednesday, Game 4: RHP Roy Oswalt vs. RHP Edwin Jackson/RHP Jake Westbrook
*Friday, Game 5: RHP Roy Halladay vs. LHP Jaime Garcia
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The pitching matchups strongly favor us at home in the first two games of the postseason. That's all you can really ask for, having your No.1 & No.2 face their 2 & 3. Halladay and Lee have been waiting all season for this opportunity.— FederalStreet- Charlie's boys will beat the Managerial Genius in the other dugout. It is all about Tony, right?— Dave Clemens
- Phillies in 3.— bobbyd24
- The cards are the hottest team in the NL going into the playoffs. That's not good for the phillies, but looking at the regular season results, the Phils look like their due. Phillies in 4!— Cheesedog
- The Cardinals are worried about the Phils, more than the Phils are concerned about them.— rustypop58
- The Cards beat the worst team in baseball to get here and the Braves played the best. The Cards run the bases like they have 20 pounds of poop in their pants. Their defense is terrible and their bullpen stinks. Unless the Phillies go to sleep this series should be a walk in the park.— Ron
- Look on the bright side, everybody. No Tim Lincecum! No Matt Cain! No Brian Wilson! No Cody Ross! No Chris Wheeler!— dasher
- It looks like the Phillies went to see Moneyball last weekend. Imagine how surprised Venters and Kimbrall must have been to see the Phillies laying off their tough pitches and taking walks instead. That bodes well for the playoffs. If only these guys read books instead of waiting for the movie to come out the last 7 years would have been even better!— jtj06
