St. Louis @ Philadelphia preview

Last Meeting ( Sep 19, 2011 ) St. Louis 4, Philadelphia 3

THE STORY: The St. Louis Cardinals were openly rooting for the Philadelphia Phillies on Wednesday. After all, the National League East champions did them a significant favor by defeating the Atlanta Braves, thereby allowing Tony La Russa's club to complete a spirited late-season rally to secure the wild card. Three days later, the Cardinals will look to upend the team with baseball's best record when they take their swings against reigning Cy Young Award winner Roy Halladay in Game 1 of the NLDS.

TV: 5:07 p.m. ET, TBS

PITCHING MATCHUP: Cardinals RH Kyle Lohse (14-8, 3.39 ERA) vs. Phillies RH Roy Halladay (19-6, 2.35 ERA)

With ace Chris Carpenter being used in the team's regular-season finale, St. Louis turns to Lohse for Game 1 on Saturday. The 32-year-old righty permitted just one run on seven hits in 7 1/3 innings as the Cardinals posted a 4-3 victory over the Phillies on Sept. 19. Since losing three straight starts in July, Lohse has won six of seven decisions - but is just 3-4 in his career against Philadelphia.

Halladay made his postseason debut last year and promptly tossed the second no-hitter in playoff history. Odds are the 34-year-old Denver native won't be as stingy this time around, but Halladay has won 12 of his last 15 decisions over the last four months. His last loss came on Sept. 19 to the Cardinals, who took advantage of a season-high four walks to score four runs on six hits. That setback was Halladay's lone one in three career decisions against St. Louis.

ABOUT THE CARDINALS: St. Louis overcame a 10 1/2-game deficit on Aug. 25 by winning 23 of their last 32 games to just surpass the Braves at the finish line. Do they have anything left in the tank? Well, Albert Pujols will have a say in answering that question, although he's had no answers against Halladay in his career. He is 2-for-11 versus the veteran hurler. Outfielder Matt Holliday will miss Game 1 after aggravating an inflamed tendon in his right hand during Tuesday's contest against the Houston Astros. Allen Craig, who has played in Holliday's absence, has homered twice in as many nights.

ABOUT THE PHILLIES: Philadelphia is the odds-on favorite to win the 2011 World Series, according to MGM Resorts International. The Phillies are listed with 7-to-5 odds after winning a franchise-best 102 games this season. Ryan Howard has certainly played a significant role in that achievement. The St. Louis native has multiple hits in three of his last four games. Against Lohse, Howard is 8-for-16 with a pair of homers and eight RBIs in his career. Hunter Pence, who hits behind Howard, has batted .319 in his career versus St. Louis - with a .317 average against Lohse.

FINAL PITCH: Although its adversary won 12 more games in 2011, St. Louis took six of the nine meetings this season and held Philadelphia to a .233 batting average.