Phillies vs. Cardinals Preview: Odds and Pitching Matchup for Aug. 22

The Phillies are the hottest team in Major League Baseball, the winners of seven games in a row, and they’ll try to take their series with the St. Louis Cardinals at 6:05 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 22. The Cardinals (66-64) gave the Phillies (71-58) all they could handle in the opening game of the series, a 7-6 win in ten innings that saw infielder Alec Bohm triple in the game winning runs.

St. Louis is also playing excellent baseball, winning six of their last ten games, but the surging performance of teams in the Wild Card race like Philadelphia and San Diego means that the Cardinals are losing ground. As such, the Phillies will have to fend off a team playing with desperation. As per usual, NBC Sports Philadelphia holds the broadcasting rights to this matchup.

Betting Odds

• Moneyline: St. Louis Cardinals +114 / Philadelphia Phillies -133
• Run Line: St. Louis Cardinals +1.5 (-195) / Philadelphia Phillies -1.5 (+161)
• Over/Under: 9 (Over -105 / Under -115)

Weather

There’s a 25 percent chance of rain during the 5 p.m. hour, and humidity is expected to sit around 70 percent at first pitch. Even with the chance of showers, temperatures in the mid 70s should make for comfortable viewing conditions. A moderate cross-breeze out of the south-south east will range from five to 13 miles per hour but shouldn’t have a major impact on power at the plate.

Pitching Matchup

With Andre Pallante headed to the Injured List due to elbow inflammation, the Cardinals will turn to rookie right-hander Quinn Mathews (3.00 ERA, 9 innings pitched, 1.56 WHIP, 10 K/9) for his third career start. Mathews made his big league debut on Aug. 2 and has acquitted himself well so far, although the Cincinnati Reds drove his pitch count up early on Aug. 18, chasing him from the game after just four innings pitched.

The Phillies will trot out a rookie of their own, 2021 first round pick Andrew Painter (6.43 ERA, 85.1 innings pitched, 1.55 WHIP, 7.49 K/9). It’s been a tale of two seasons for Painter, who struggled mightily after making the big league club out of spring training. Since making his way back from a demotion to Triple-A, Painter has looked much better, but he struggled his last time out against the Minnesota Twins.

The Phillies have yet to face Mathews; Painter held the Cardinals to two earned runs in 5.1 innings on Aug. 11, holding St. Louis to a .125 batting average (2-for-16) with just one extra base hit… but three walks issued cost him. Ivan Herrera logged the double, while Alec Burleson went 1-for-2 with a walk.

Props

Painter’s strikeout line sits at an underwhelming 3.5; he fanned six Cardinals’ batters two weeks ago, but with his struggles this season he’s never a sure option to stay in the game long enough to hit the over. Mathews has almost no track record against lefties in the big leagues, a major question mark for the Phillies’ lefty-heavy lineup.

He held batters from both sides of the plate to an average below .200 in Triple-A, but posted reverse splits with less power allowed to left-handed batters. As such, batters like Bryce Harper, Bryson Stott, Brandon Marsh and Kyle Schwarber could continue the trend of soft contact… or welcome Mathews to The Show with a power surge.