2022 MLB Playoffs: Phillies stun Cardinals with ninth-inning rally in Game 1

By Rowan Kavner
FOX Sports MLB Writer

A stunned crowd at Busch Stadium — just two innings prior screaming with joy after Juan Yepez’s tie-breaking, pinch-hit home run — started to file for the exits in disbelief before the last out was recorded. 

A last-ditch effort couldn’t alleviate the sting from the ninth-inning collapse.

The Cardinals had never lost a postseason game when leading by two runs or more heading into the ninth — until Friday afternoon, when the Phillies patiently bombarded stalwart closer Ryan Helsley and Andre Pallante for six runs in the ninth inning of a comeback 6-3 victory.

Helsley, who had lost one game all season, seemed well on his way to securing a five-out save and a 2-0 victory when the Cardinals’ grip on the game began to loosen. After recording the final two outs of the eighth and striking out Rhys Hoskins to start the ninth, Helsley allowed a single and two walks before hitting a batter to bring in a run. He had not hit a batter all season.

The unraveling and the barrage of soft contact continued after Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol turned to Pallante, as two singles — including the go-ahead knock by Jean Segura — a fielder’s choice and a sacrifice fly concluded a six-run frame for the Phillies, who didn’t score a run until the ninth inning.

“It means a lot,” Segura, the 11-year veteran participating in his first postseason, said after the win. “I’d been waiting so many years for the opportunity.”

Grounders continued making their way past the gloves of the Cardinals’ typically sure-handed infielders. By the end of the onslaught, Helsley was charged with four runs. He had not allowed more than two runs in any game this year.

The Cardinals battled back for a run in the ninth on a Nolan Gorman single and brought the tying run to the plate, but Zach Eflin got Yadier Molina swinging to end it.

What went right for the Phillies

Long before the ninth-inning frenzy, there was a pitchers’ duel between Zack Wheeler and Jose Quintana.

Wheeler hadn’t thrown more than 77 pitches in a game since Aug. 20 as he worked his way back from forearm tendinitis in September. On Friday, he was asked to throw 96 pitches and answered the challenge triumphantly, holding the Cardinals to two hits and a walk in 6⅓ scoreless innings. He went one inning longer than Quintana, who posted a nearly identical line in 5⅓ scoreless frames. Including his two regular-season games against the Cardinals this season, Wheeler hasn’t allowed a run against St. Louis in 20⅓ innings.

The game was to be decided by the bullpens. Given the Phillies’ shakiness in that area, few would’ve expected the collapse to come on the Cardinals’ side. And the Phillies’ bullpen was far from perfect. A scoreless game was broken when Yepez came off the bench and swatted a two-run home run off José Alvarado, who hadn’t allowed a run since Aug. 23. But Philadelphia’s proved to be the better of the two sides.

What went wrong for the Cardinals

The Phillies’ bullpen was 3-8 with a 5.07 ERA since the start of September. The Cardinals’ bullpen was 6-2 with a 3.33 ERA in that time. But the postseason is a different beast.

Quintana was rolling when he departed, leaving at 75 pitches with nobody on base and one out in the sixth inning. Marmol wanted Jordan Hicks, Giovanny Gallegos and Helsley for the final 3⅓ innings. Hicks navigated St. Louis through a scoreless sixth. Gallegos did the same in the seventh, then started the eighth with a lineout and a walk.

Things avalanched an inning later.

Offensively, a Cardinals offense with the third-best OPS in the National League struggled to generate many scoring opportunities. They finished the day with only four at-bats with runners in scoring position. 

Yepez’s homer was the lone St. Louis extra-base hit. The Cardinals had a change to strike in the sixth, with two on and no out, but Wheeler got Albert Pujols to ground into a double play. NL MVP favorite Paul Goldschmidt followed with an inning-ending groundout.

Key moment of the game

Bryce Harper was down 1-2 in the count to Helsley with one on and one out in the ninth inning. Rather than trying to be the hero, Harper worked the count full and drew a walk. From there, things started to snowball on Helsley.

A Phillies offense known for its ability to mash home runs — they were third in the National League in the category — instead strung together a medley of walks and softly hit singles to fight back in the ninth. 

None of the hits in the comeback was a hard-hit ball. The team needed only one extra-base hit in the win.

What to watch in Game 2

Beyond the Cardinals’ hitters having to face ace Aaron Nola in Game 2, the team’s most trusted bullpen arms are now in tough shape.

Gallegos threw 19 pitches in 1⅓ innings. Helsley threw 33 pitches, and his availability the rest of the weekend is in question after he reportedly dealt with numbness in his middle finger. 

Quintana answered the call in Game 1 admirably. The Cardinals will need the same from Miles Mikolas in Game 2. If Mikolas gets rolling the way Quintana was, will he be trusted to go deeper? All available hands will need to be on deck in an elimination game.

Rowan Kavner covers the Dodgers and NL West for FOX Sports. He previously was the Dodgers’ editor of digital and print publications. Follow him on Twitter at @RowanKavner.