Series Preview: Philadelphia Phillies vs. St. Louis Cardinals 5/31-6/2

The Philadelphia Phillies will take on the St. Louis Cardinals this weekend for three games. The Phillies are coming off a series loss to the Giants while the Cardinals are coming off a series win over the Reds.

Philadelphia Phillies (39-18) vs. St. Louis Cardinals (27-27)

Game 1:

Date: Friday, May 31
Time: 6:40 pm EST
Broadcast: NBCSP / Bally Sports Midwest

Game 2:

Date: Saturday, June 1
Time: 7:15 pm EST
Broadcast: FOX

Game 3:

Date: Sunday, June 2
Time: 7:10 pm EST
Broadcast: ESPN

Probable Starting Pitchers

Game 1: Aaron Nola (6-2, 3.04 ERA) vs. Miles Mikolas (3-5, 5.64 ERA)

Nola gets the series started for the Phillies, he is 6-2 with a 3.04 ERA, a 3.79 FIP, a 1.05 WHIP, and 65 strikeouts in 71 innings. In his last start, he faced the Rockies going six innings giving up three runs, two earned on five hits; he walked two and struck out five. He faced the Cardinals earlier this season going six innings giving up two runs on three hits; he walked three and struck out three on his way to a win. Mikolas goes for the Cardinals making his 12^th start of the season, he is 3-5 with a 5.64 ERA, a 4.35 FIP, a 1.35 WHIP, and 45 strikeouts in 59 innings. In his last start, he faced the Cubs going six innings giving up three runs on four hits; he walked two and struck out six. He faced the Phillies earlier this season going 6.2 innings giving up two runs on six hits; he walked two and struck out three.

Game 2: Ranger Suarez (9-1, 1.75 ERA) vs. Sonny Gray (7-2, 2.60 ERA)

Suarez gets the middle game he is 9-1 with a 1.75 ERA, a 2.69 FIP, a 0.81 WHIP, and 77 strikeouts in 72 innings. In his last start, he faced the Rockies going six innings giving up five runs, four earned on three hits; he walked four and struck out nine. He faced the Cardinals for the first time last season going six innings giving up a run on four hits; he walked four and struck out five. Gray goes for the Cardinals he is 7-2 with a 2.60 ERA, a 2.80 FIP, a 1.00 WHIP, and 67 strikeouts in 52 innings. In his last start, he faced the Cubs going five shutout innings giving up one run; he walked two and struck out eight. He faced the Phillies earlier this season going five shutout innings giving up five hits; he didn’t issue a walk and struck out five as well as picking up the win.

Game 3: Taijuan Walker (3-1, 5.51 ERA) vs. Lance Lynn (2-3, 3.45 ERA)

Walker gets the finale he is 3-1 with a 5.51 ERA, a 5.27 FIP, a 1.59 WHIP, and 25 strikeouts in 32.2 innings. In his last start, he faced the Giants going six innings giving up six runs, five earned on nine hits; he walked two and struck out four. In his career against the Cardinals, he is 1-1 with a 3.65 ERA, a 1.13 WHIP, and 28 strikeouts in 37 innings. Lynn goes for the Cardinals he is 2-3 with a 3.45 ERA, a 4.23 FIP, a 1.34 WHIP, and 53 strikeouts in 57.1 innings. In his last start, he faced the Reds going six innings giving up three runs, one earned on five hits; he walked three and struck out five. He faced the Phillies earlier this season going five innings giving up two runs, both were unearned on a hit; he walked four and struck out six.

Philadelphia Phillies vs. St. Louis Cardinals Leaders

Phillies:

AVG – Alec Bohm – .308
HR – Bryce Harper – 13
RBI – Alec Bohm – 47
IP – Zack Wheeler – 73.2
ERA – Ranger Suarez – 1.75
K – Zack Wheeler – 85

Cardinals:

AVG – Masyn Winn – .308
HR – Nolan Gorman – 10
RBI – Nolan Arenado – 25
IP – Kyle Gibson – 65.0
ERA – Sonny Gray – 2.60
K – Sonny Gray – 67

Philadelphia Phillies vs. St. Louis Cardinals Numbers

Phillies

AVG: .258 (2)
OPS: .750 (3)
R: 299 (1)
HR: 66 (5)
ERA: 3.08 (2)
K: 528 (2)
WHIP: 1.16 (5)

Cardinals

AVG: .237 (17)             
OPS: .682 (19)
R: 213 (26)
HR: 48 (23)
ERA: 4.11 (18)
K: 441 (25)
WHIP: 1.30 (20)

Wrap Up

This is my series to watch for the weekend with the Phillies being the best team in baseball and the Cardinals having turned things around and are back to .500 as they have won seven of their last eight and 12 of their last 15. The pitching matchups are also interesting in this one with the middle game being the best one to watch. The bats for the Cardinals in their 15-game stretch have five players hitting over .300 in that time Masyn Winn, Alec Burleson, Brendan Donovan, Lars Nootbaar, and Paul Goldschmidt. They have three players who have 11 RBI Winn, Goldschmidt, and Nolan Gorman. The Phillies on the other side have had an interesting stretch winning six straight but since then they have gone 2-4 losing a series to the Rockies and the Giants bringing them to 8-4 in their last 12 and 10-5 in their last 15. In that 15-game stretch, they have three players hitting over .300 Kyle Schwarber, J.T. Realmuto, and Edmundo Sosa. They have three players who have driven in ten-plus runs in that stretch as well, Alec Bohm who has driven in 14, Bryce Harper who has driven in 13, and Kyle Schwarber who has driven in ten. This will be a fun series to tune into and will be must-watch baseball this weekend.