It’s been 11 years since the Cardinals and Phillies last met in the playoffs. (And that last one—an NLDS victory for the Cardinals en route to the World Series—left some lasting memories.) Now, it’s time for the Phillies’ first trip back to the playoffs since then, which means a rematch. St. Louis will be hosting as the No. 3 seed after winning the NL Central; Philadelphia is the No. 6 seed after getting the last wild-card berth. Here are three factors to watch for in the best-of-three series starting Friday:
How much will Philadelphia have to rely on its bullpen?
Here’s a stat: The Phillies called on their bullpen less than any other team this year in the National League. Their starters averaged 5.6 innings per start, highest in the NL, which meant their relievers ended up throwing far fewer frames than the average club. That might seem like a potential indicator of a terrible bullpen, or at the very least, one not trusted by interim manager Rob Thomson. But that’s not the case! This was actually the best the Phillies’ bullpen had been in years. But it was also quite up-and-down. Zoom in on their second half: They posted the highest relief ERA in the NL at 5.10 (yikes). But much of that came from injuries to players who are now healthy, like Seranthony Dominguez and Brad Hand, and their peripheral stats were much better than their raw numbers. (Their second-half strikeout rate was behind only the Mets and Braves in the NL.) This isn’t a bad ‘pen. But outside of lockdown option José Alvarado, it’s not a decidedly good one either, and it works best when kept to small doses.
