Phillies vs Cardinals Game 2 Odds, Picks & Predictions

• The Phillies vs Cardinals odds have Philadelphia listed as -118 moneyline favorites in Game 2 of their NL Wild Card Series on Saturday (Oct. 8) at 8:37 pm ET
• Philadelphia will start Aaron Nola (11-13, 3.25 ERA), while St. Louis will trot out Miles Mikolas (12-13, 3.29 ERA)
• See the complete Phillies vs Cardinals odds in the story below, plus analysis and a bet to target

Cards moneyline and under bettors still can’t believe what happened in Game 1 of the Phillies-Cardinals NL Wild Card Series. Philly came to the plate down 2-0 in the 9th inning, and were down to their final two outs. Then the wheels completely fell off for the Cardinals bullpen.

They proceeded to give up three walks, three singles, and a sac fly, and before you knew it the Phillies had jumped out to a 6-2 lead. Philadelphia would hold on for a 6-3 decision, and are now one win away from the NLDS.

Oddsmakers like their chances of advancing in the MLB playoff bracket, as they’ve installed the Phillies as the road chalk in Game 2 on Saturday.

Phillies vs Cardinals Game 2 Odds

Odds as of October 7th at Barstool Sportsbook. Claim the Barstool Sportsbook promo code.

Philadelphia opened up as -118 moneyline favorites, in a game that features a total of 6.5. The Phillies are now -275 to win this best-of-three series, with St. Louis coming back as a +220 underdog.

First pitch for Game 2 is scheduled for 8:37 pm ET at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, Missouri, with clear skies and 52 degree game time temperatures on deck.

Philadelphia vs St. Louis Probable Pitchers

Philly also saw their World Series odds shortened thanks to their Game 1 victory. That number now sits at +1700, as they turn to Aaron Nola on Saturday. Nola was stellar last time out helping Philadelphia secure a playoff spot, throwing 6.2 innings of shutout ball against the Astros.

That start marked the second in his past four outings where he’s blanked an opponent, as he did the same to the Braves on September 23rd. Nola posted a 2.93 ERA in September, his second best mark of any month this year, but struggled in his lone start against St. Louis this season. Nola gave up seven hits and five runs in a 6-1 defeat, but that outing may have been an outlier.

Aaron Nola starts Game 2 with a chance to help the Phillies to the next round of the playoffs.

He made 18 starts this season against teams that were 10+ games over .500 and had a 3.48 ERA. (Phillies went 5-13.)

— Corey Seidman (@CSeidmanNBCS) October 7, 2022

He’s held Cardinals hitters to a career .233 average over 116 at-bats, while Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado have combined to go 6-for-35, with nine k’s.

Nola vs Mikolas Stats

St. Louis will counter with Miles Mikolas. The 34-year-old All-Star was excellent down the stretch, allowing just two earned runs over his final 15 innings of work.

After a rocky August, he posted a 2.32 ERA in September, and fared very well against the Phillies in both starts this season. He posted a 2.13 ERA versus Philly, yielding three earned runs over 12.2 innings.

The entire season now hinges on Miles Mikolas https://t.co/Ji1fqeGilm

— Ryan (@The_Ryan_Shull) October 7, 2022

While this will be Nola’s postseason debut, Mikolas has made three playoff appearances. He owns a 1.50 ERA in those games, surrendering two runs over 12 innings, while striking out nine.

Phillies vs Cardinals Betting Analysis

Philadelphia struggled badly over the final few weeks of the regular season, and Game 1 simply looked like a carryover of their dismal play. They managed just two hits over the first 8 innings, and only three baserunners.

Their four biggest bats, Bryce Harper, Kyle Schwarber, Nick Castellanos and Rhys Hoskins combined to go 0-for-15 on Friday, and it’s impossible to think they can win another game if that keeps up.

Conversely, Goldschmidt and Arenado, the two leading contenders in the NL MVP odds, were just 1-for-7, while Albert Pujols was 0-for-4.

Best OPS, second half of this MLB season:
Aaron Judge, 1.293
Albert Pujols, 1.104 😍
Mike Trout, 1.011
Paul Goldschmidt, .959pic.twitter.com/FFTk6Ztsmc

— Codify (@CodifyBaseball) October 4, 2022

The Cardinals were 74-3 this season when leading after 8 innings, and Game 1 was the first time in 94 playoff contests where they’ve blown a multi-run lead in the final frame.

The tiny 6.5 total hints at another low scoring game on Saturday, but if one of the offenses is going to show some life, chances are it will be St. Louis. The Cards averaged five runs per game over the final two weeks of the season, and posted a .422 slugging percentage and .750 OPS at home in 2022.

Busch Stadium is where Goldschmidt did the bulk of his damage this year, batting .347 with 22 of his 35 home runs.

PHI vs STL – 2022 H2H Results

Phillies vs Cardinals Pick

We’ll find out what this St. Louis team is made of on Saturday, but let’s not write them off just yet. They still get to play the rest of the series at home, where they’ve been one of the most dominant teams all season. The Cards had 53 victories in their own park, more than all but five MLB teams.

Philadelphia on the other hand, came up clutch when the lights were brightest, but nothing we’d seen from them through the first 8 innings on Friday, or the final few weeks of the regular season suggested this team is for real. Their lineup is still struggling, while their bullpen had the fourth worst ERA over the final month of the season.

St. Louis should be favored in this matchup, making their +102 moneyline odds a steal.

Pick: St. Louis Cardinals Moneyline (+102)