Cards Are Next Up For Phillies

St. Louis Cardinals (55-46*; 25-25* on road) @ Philadelphia Phillies (53-39*; 24-24* at home)
*records prior to 7/23 games

I am going to write the series preview now and I'll write a brief on the tonight's game when it ends. But for now, I will set up the series starting tomorrow versus the St. Louis Cardinals. The Phillies have won 14 of their last 16 going into tonight's game versus San Diego and don't show any signs of cooling down. The Cardinals have lost three straight going into tonight's game. The Phillies lead the season series 2-0. All numbers talked about are prior to tonight's games.

The Cardinals feature the best player in baseball, Albert Pujols, along with an offense that's sixth in the NL in runs scored and 12th in average. The Phillies are first in runs scored and sixth in average. Pujols is tearing up the league with his .328 average, 34 homers, and 90 RBI's through 96 games.

The pitching is a different story. The Cardinals are fourth in the NL in ERA and fifth in fewest runs allowed. The Phillies are 13th in ERA and ninth in fewest runs allowed.

The Cardinals also have two of the league's best pitchers this year in Adam Wainwright and Chris Carpenter. Fortunately for the Phillies, they won't be seeing either of them this series. In fact, of the three pitchers the Phillies face, none of them impress or show any signs of being a threat outside of maybe Joel Piniero. For the Phillies, they have their three hottest guys on the mound. See probables at the bottom for pitchers, records, and ERA.

Overall, the Phillies are a better team but once again, the Cardinals have been carried by some steady offense including Pujols' tremendous play. Another series win is expected but I am going with the sweep.

Pitching Probables:
7/24: STL: Pineiro (8-9, 3.09), PHI: Happ (7-0, 2.68)
7/25: STL: Lohse (4-6, 4.21), PHI: Lopez, Ro (2-0, 2.60)
7/26: STL: Wellemeyer (7-8, 5.68), PHI: Blanton (6-4, 4.24)