Phillies Advance to NLDS vs. Braves (Or There Goes My Cardinals World Series Prediction)

The Philadelphia Phillies defeated the St. Louis Cardinals 2-0 to sweep the NL Wild Card Series. Aaron Nola and three relievers combined on a 7-hit shutout while Bryce Harper hit a solo HR in the 2nd with Kyle Schwarber driving in a run on a sacrifice fly in the 5th.

The turning point in the series was the 9th inning of Game 1 on Friday. With the Cardinals leading 3-0 in the 9th inning, the Phillies scored six unanswered runs rendering Redbirds fans in shock. 

Well, so much for my prediction of a Cardinals World Series title. 

With the Cardinals exit so ends the playing careers of Albert Pujols, Yadier Molina and Adam Wainwright who were part of the team's World Series championships in 2006 and 2011 with the hope of capturing a championship in a third decade. But the Phillies had other plans.

Those plans involve travelling to Atlanta to face the defending World Series champion Braves in the NLDS starting Tuesday night in the best three out of five series.

The Phillies sweep of the Cardinals follows the Cleveland Guardians and Seattle Mariners who swept their Wild Card Series earlier on Saturday against the Tampa Bay Rays and Toronto Blue Jays, respectively. 

The only Wild Card contest left to be determined is the NLWCS between the San Diego Padres and the New York Mets. After the Padres feasted on Max Scherzer for a 7-1 win in Game 1 on Friday, the Mets evened the series with a 7-3 victory tonight. The deciding game takes place tomorrow night at Citi Field where the previous two games have also been played. The winner of that series will go on to face the Los Angeles Dodgers in the other NLDS matchup.