2 of Baseball’s Hottest Team’s Meet — Series Preview: Cardinals at Phillies, May 12-14
May 11, 2025; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Philadelphia Phillies designated hitter Kyle Schwarber (12) celebrates with catcher J.T. Realmuto (10) after hitting a home run during the second inning against the Cleveland Guardians at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images
It’s a series between, surprisingly, two of the hottest teams in baseball. The Phillies are coming off a 5-1 road trip and five consecutive series wins and have scored seven or more runs in six of their last eight games. Their 11 wins in their last 14 games have skyrocketed them to a 24-16 record and 1.5 games back of the Mets for first place in the National League East.
But then there’s St Louis. The Cardinals (the ones who didn’t just elect a new pope) are coming into Philadelphia as winners of eight straight games. They were 10-15 at one point this season, but their recent win streak, along with improved play, has increased their record to 22-19.
After the Cardinals series, the Phillies have a back-to-back series against two of the worst teams in baseball in the Pirates and the Rockies. Continuing to win every series is the goal, and keeping that streak alive against St. Louis is the goal.
Quieting The Red Birds Bats
The game plan for the Phillies this weekend is very simple. Keep the Cardinals’ offense in check. The recent winning streak from Oli Marmol’s squad has been mainly from the team’s recent surge of offense. St. Louis has scored within the first three innings in each of its past four games, and the early offense has allowed their pitching to ease into games.
Willson Contreras has been the leading man for the Red Birds recently, as just his past weekend, he extended his on-base streak to 23 games with a home run in the Cardinals’ 6-1 Sunday win over Washington. Contreras’ batting average was as low as .218 at the beginning of May, and just 12 days into the month, he bumped that up to .255, thanks to his recent hot streak of 12 hits in his last nine games.
Nolan Arenado has also had a great start to May, as he has 12 hits this month as well, jumping his average up 20 points. Victor Scott II‘s 11-game hitting streak has been a nice spark at the bottom of the Cardinals’ order as well. Shutting down these guys, as well as the rest of the lineup, with be key to winning another series.
Dominant Starting Pitching
As mentioned above, stopping the Cardinals’ offense is key to the series. How do they do that? With the incredible starting pitching staff that they’ve assembled.
While the recent offensive surge has been the big key towards the Phillies’ recent winning ways, starting pitching has been incredible for the Phillies as of late. Ranger Suarez has returned to the Phillies rotation full-time and, after struggling in his first start, bounced back in start No. 2.
The incredible starting rotation of Suarez, Zack Wheeler, Aaron Nola, Cristopher Sanchez, and Jesus Luzardo is finally at full strength, and it’s a juggernaut for opposing teams. Just last night, Wheeler put on another dominant performance against the Cleveland Guardians, dropping his ERA to 2.95 on the season.
Nola struggled in his most recent start, giving up four earned runs, but has looked better, and the lefty duo of Sanchez and Luzardo have been flat out disgusting. There’s no break in this Phillies rotation, and when the offense backs up the staff with any type of run support, the starters do their job, and the outcome for the Phillies continues to be positive. Setting the tone for this series, and not letting the Cardinals get early offense on the board, will be huge for the Phillies.
Game Times and Broadcasts
Monday, May 12, 6:45 p.m. ET, NBC Sports Philadelphia, 94.1 WIP, WTTM 1680
Tuesday, May 13, 6:45 p.m. ET, NBC Sports Philadelphia, 94.1 WIP, WTTM 1680
Wednesday, May 14, 1:05 p.m. ET, NBC Sports Philadelphia, NBC 10, 94.1 WIP, WTTM 1680
Probable Pitching Matchups
Game 1: Cristopher Sanchez (LHP, 4-1, 2.89 ERA) vs. Matthew Liberatore (LHP, 3-3, 3.07 ERA)
Game 2: Jesus Luzardo (LHP, 3-0, 2.11 ERA) vs. Sonny Gray (RHP, 4-1, 3.50 ERA)
Game 3: Aaron Nola (RHP, 1-6, 4.89 ERA) vs. Erick Fedde (RHP, 3-3, 3.86 ERA)
By the Numbers
- Records
- Phillies: 24-16
- Cardinals: 22-19
- Run Differential
- Phillies: 23
- Cardinals: 24
- Runs Scored Per Game
- Phillies: 4.82
- Cardinals: 4.70
- Runs Allowed Per Game
- Phillies: 4.31
- Cardinals: 4.23
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Matt Brown
Matt has been a Philadelphia sports fan all his life and spent four years at Penn State University majoring in Broadcast Journalism and minoring in Sports Studies. He previously covered Penn State’s field hockey, men’s and women’s basketball, and baseball teams while writing for a Penn State blog called Onward State. He has now covered the Phillies, Eagles, and Sixers for Philly Sports Reports since October 2024 and wants to pursue a career in Sports Journalism.
