How The Phillies Can Get Revenge Against the Cardinals For 2011
By Ray Dunne
The Rally Squirrel. Cliff Lee’s squandered four-run lead. A Raul Ibañez fly out that looked like it was a surefire home run. All of that before the devastating achilles injury to Ryan Howard on a groundout that would end the most recent golden age of Phillies baseball. Whoever said time heals all wounds clearly didn’t watch the 2011 NLDS.
The only way to avenge that disastrous series is to close out this generation of Cardinals’ careers. This obnoxious organization has found a way to remain relevant year in and year out, with just one losing season in the 21st century. Scott Rolen called the place “Baseball Heaven” after being traded there by the Phillies in 2002.
And there still remain three players from the Cardinals’ 2011 team that topped the Phillies in the NLDS and went on to win a title. Adam Wainwright, Yadier Molina and Albert Pujols have long been legends of this game, but have had their time in the spotlight. Pujols specifically has spent the last few months as the darling of the sport as he sought to cross the 700-home run threshold. Of the trio, Pujols had the best series in 2011 as he slashed .350/.409/.500 and drove in a run. Molina was not hugely impactful offensively and Wainwright missed the entire ‘11 season due to Tommy John surgery.
Yet, over a decade later and after an unceremonious move to LA for Pujols, the three are once again the cornerstones as the Phillies try to launch the next generation of fun baseball. It’s time to exact that revenge and end an era of excellence in St. Louis.
Here are three-ish reasons that the Phillies will do it:
The Zack Wheeler-Aaron Nola 1-2 punch:
This has been the most obvious advantage the Phillies have over any opponent.
Wheeler has been an ace for the last two seasons and since returning from the IL, he’s been nothing short of spectacular. The right-hander has posted a 0.60 ERA and 0.67 WHIP in the 15 innings that he’s pitched in September.
Furthermore, he’s yet to allow a run in two starts against the Cardinals this season. Over the two games in July, Wheeler struck out 10 batters and allowed just 11 base runners.
Nola did struggle in his one start against the Cardinals, but he’s started to rewrite his late-season woes with an impressive run. The much-maligned starter had a 2.36 ERA and an 11.80 K/9 rate through the final month of the year.
Recent Nolan Arenado-Paul Goldschmidt Slide
Both Nolan Arenado and Paul Goldschmidt have not looked good over the last month. Arenado is hitting .214 with only two home runs and Goldschmidt is hitting just .241 with two home runs as they entered the final game of the season.
In that time, the team slipped to 17th in the league in OPS and have hit .227. The one thing that has kept the offense afloat is their ability to see pitches and prolong at-bats.
The Phillies also have historically kept the two players in check compared to other organizations, as both Arenado and Goldschmidt have posted their 6th-lowest OPS by an opponent against Philadelphia.
Some History That Favors the Phillies
Solid Phillies numbers against the Cardinals:
Rhys Hoskins: .298/.373/.558, 7 HRs, 11 RBI in 118 PA
Bryce Harper: .333/.439/.624, 12 HRs, 45 RBI in 228 PA
Nick Castellanos .277/.355/.470, 7 HRs, 22 RBI in 186 PA
The Phillies haven’t lost a series to the Cardinals since 2017. No, seriously. The Cardinals are 5-6 at home in their last five postseason trips.
Bonus: The Cardinals were known as the St. Louis Perfectos in 1899, which I didn’t know until now and seems pretty lame. Their owners also owned the Cleveland Spiders at the time and gave all the talented players to the Perfectos, but still finished 5th in the National League. Losers.
