Phillies Look To Start July Strong With Series Against Cardinals

Coming off of their most successful month in over a decade, the Philadelphia Phillies host the St. Louis Cardinals to begin July.

Kyle Ross-USA TODAY Sports

As the 2022 MLB All-Star break rapidly approaches, sitting only 18 days away, the Philadelphia Phillies look to pick up where they left off in June as they host the St. Louis Cardinals.

June was full of trials and tribulations for the Fightins. Whether it was having to settle in with interim manager Rob Thomson, playing tough opponents such as the Milwaukee Brewers, San Diego Padres, and the Atlanta Braves, or losing Bryce Harper to a fractured finger. 

Yet, the team managed to overcome several of these challenges and flourish, grabbing 19 wins. Making it the organization's most successful month since September 2010.

Kyle Schwarber rounds the bases after hitting a three-run home run against the Atlanta Braves on Thursday / Kyle Ross-USA TODAY Sports

Their most recent victory came in a 14-4 slugfest against the Braves which featured countless offensive production from several key players. One of which was Kyle Schwarber, who had himself quite the month. In June, Schwarber slashed .273/.390/.667 with 12 home runs and 24 RBIs.

13 of those RBIs came during the previous two series where Schwarber has really done his best to fill in for Harper, hitting .250/.314/.656.

Harper wasn't the only player to pay a visit to the IL during the previous series as Zach Eflin was also moved after he suffered from a right knee bruise. The Phillies will be without Eflin for their games against the Cardinals.

St. Louis comes into July on the hunt for the top spot in the NL Central, as they trail the Brewers by only one game. Their schedule as of late has seen them pitted against some of the more middle-of-the-pack teams as well as the Brewers, yet these teams have done little to oppose St. Louis.

Nolan Arenado high-fives Paul Goldschmidt following his home run against the Arizona Diamondbacks / Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports

An aspect of St. Louis' game that has really propelled them is their offense. They rank third in total hits and runs, as well as ranking near the top-ten in team batting average, slugging percentage, OBP, and OPS. Two players who have contributed massively are Nolan Arenado and Paul Goldschmidt, both of whom are finalists for their respective positions in the NL All-Star team. Arenado is slugging .278/.341/.496 with 14 home runs and 49 RBIs, but what Goldschmidt is doing is unbelievable.

Goldschmidt leads the Major Leagues in batting average (.342), slugging percentage (.424), OBP (.630), as well as OPS (1.054) with 19 home runs and 65 RBIs. To say that Goldschmidt is in the MVP race would be an understatement with numbers that solid.

Adam Wainwright delivers a pitch against the Cincinnati Reds / Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports

When it comes to the Cardinals' pitching, they do have a few spots which could see improvement. However, one player who they would be hard pressed to nask anything more from is Adam Wainwright.

Wainwright, who is currently in his 17th season with the Cardinals, has been off to a similar start to his previous season as he is pitching with an ERA of 3.07 and a FIP of 3.38.

Last year, Wainwright defied all expectations by killing the game going 17-7 with an ERA of 3.05 and a FIP of 3.66. These achievements were a part of a campaign that saw Wainwright finish seventh in the NL Cy Young Award race as well as twentieth in the NL MVP race, which is remarkable for a player at his age.

Let's take a look at the pitching match-ups for this series:

Game One:

Phillies Starter: Bailey Falter (0-2, 4.50 ERA)

Cardinals Starter: Miles Mikolas (5-5, 2.57 ERA)

Bailey Falter will make his first appearance with the Phillies since June 17 when he went five innings allowing five hits and four strikeouts against the Washington Nationals. Since then Falter made one start with Lehigh Valley where he allowed one hit and struck out five batters across six innings.

Miles Mikolas grabs the start on Friday for the Cardinals after his solid performance against the Chicago Cubs on Saturday. In that start, Mikolas pitched six innings of four-hit baseball with nine strikeouts.

First Pitch: Friday, 6:05 P.M. EST

Where to Watch: NBCSP, 94 WIP

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Game Two:

Phillies Starter: Kyle Gibson (4-3, 4.48 ERA)

Cardinals Starter: Matthew Liberatore (2-1, 4.00 ERA)

Kyle Gibson will start on Saturday looking to forget about his previous start against the Padres, in which Gibson only lasted 2.2 innings after allowing four hits and five runs. It was Gibson's shortest performance of the season as well as the end of a streak of quality starts.

So far in his rookie campaign, Matthew Liberatore has made two solid starts with one of them being his previous start against the Pittsburgh Pirates. In that start, Liberatore pitched five innings, allowing three hits and striking out five batters in the process.

First Pitch: Saturday, 4:05 P.M. EST

Where to Watch: NBCSP, 94 WIP

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Game Three:

Phillies Starter: Zack Wheeler (6-4, 2.89 ERA)

Cardinals Starter: Adam Wainwright (6-5, 3.07 ERA)

Zack Wheeler will close out the series for Philadelphia, coming off of his solid start against the Braves. In that start, Wheeler allowed five hits and three runs across six innings while fanning eight batters.

Adam Wainwright will get the start for the Cardinals on Sunday, as the veteran comes off of his start against the Miami Marlins. In that start, Wainwright looked as if he was in his prime, going seven innings of seven-hit baseball while striking out nine batters.

First Pitch: Sunday, 7:08 P.M. EST

Where to Watch: ESPN, 94 WIP

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Players to Watch:

Phillies: Kyle Schwarber

Kyle Schwarber spots his two-run home run leave the park against the San Diego Padres / Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports

Schwarber is the Phillies' player to watch for the second series in a row due to his offensive output throughout the month of June, and as of late. If Schwarber keeps hitting home runs at the rate which he has, there is no reason why he wouldn't leave the series in sole possession of second place in league rankings as he currently sits tied with Mike Trout and Yordan Alvarez. Philadelphia will need Schawrber to keep producing the rate at which he is if they hope to minimize the gap left by Harper's absence.

Cardinals: Paul Goldschmidt

Paul Goldschmidt watches his home run against the Milwaukee Brewers / Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports

Goldschmidt finds himself as the Cardinals' player to watch due to his phenomenal start to the season, which sees him rank so highly in the league. In his career, Goldschmidt has made himself at home in Citizens Bank Park, slashing .299/.364/.573 in the Phillies stadium. Philadelphia's pitching staff will have to pitch carefully to Goldschmidt if they wish to keep his offensive capabilities at bay, which is going to be extremely important if they want to take games off of a hungry team like the Cardinals.

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