The St. Louis Cardinals flopped the bag in a big way in the first game of the Wild Card series against the Phillies. One statistic shows how bad it is.
Louis Cardinals kept the Philadelphia Phillies goalless for eight full rounds on Friday afternoon, but Philadelphia exploded for six runs in the ninth inning with their backs against the wall.
It was an incredible implosion. Ryan Helsley – who did not come out of the match physically unscathed – gave up four winning games with Andre Palante counting the other two. Helsley in particular struggled to control his fastball, throwing just 15 hits from his 33 pitches.
One Reddit user noted that the Cardinals were 93-0 in post-season history after leading two or more times after the eighth inning. After Friday? 93-1.
The Phillies were so unlikely to win that the odds chart looked like Kingda Ka at Six Flags in Jersey.
Fans pulled out of the exits before the match ended in dismay at what they saw. On their own land, no less.
The new Wild Card format gives the Cardinal a chance to redeem
One positive change emerging from the 2022 shutdown is that the league and players have negotiated additional Wild Card teams and games. Previously, Wild Card games were a single-elimination which resulted in high stakes, but it left little margin for error.
Now, the Wild Card series is better than 3, which means that the Cardinals get a chance of redemption after an unlikely loss in Game 1.
The Cardinals now have their backs on the wall, but fortunately for the entire series to be played in one place, the Cardinals have the advantage of local courts as the top seed.
As a fan, you have to love the new look. It allows the Wild Card series to take on a character of its own over several days rather than just one.
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