2022 NL Wildcard preview
The National League Wild Card has been a hot topic that has had baseball fans on the edge of their seats until the end of the season. At last, the field is set, and now all there is left to do is watch as the best-of-the-best battle it out starting Friday, Oct. 7.
There are two incredible matchups to watch in the NL, starting with the battle of red: the Philadelphia Phillies taking on the St. Louis Cardinals.
The Phillies are coming back with a vengeance and something to prove heading into the series. The Fightin’s last memory of the playoffs was a heartbreaking 1-0 loss to none other than the Cards themselves in Game 5 of the 2011 NLDS. This marked an end of an era and the beginning of the Phillies’ eleven-year dry spell from the postseason.
Good news for Philadelphia fans, the Phillies are back and ready for Red October. Their big selling point? They have the hitting power of stars Kyle Schwarber, Nick Castellanos, and let’s not forget last year’s National League MVP, Bryce Harper.
The Cardinals have something to prove as well. Although they made the postseason just last year, their run ended in just one game against the Los Angeles Dodgers, who beat them 3-1.
Luckily for all Wild Card teams, the new collective bargaining agreement that was signed this previous spring changed the Wild Card format from a single game to a best-of-three series.
This means the Cardinals could no longer be out of playoff contention after just one game like last year.
Moving to the other end of the bracket, the San Diego Padres are headed to Citi Field for their Wild Card series against the New York Mets. This matchup came as a surprise for many as the Mets had a clear stream to clinching the division not too long ago.
After leading the National League East by 10.5 games on June 1, the New York Mets battled the Atlanta Braves to clinch.
Although the Braves were only in first place for eight games out of the entire 162-game season, Atlanta came out on top after sweeping the Amazins in the two’s last regular season series. Despite having the same record, in the end, the Braves clinched the division via the tiebreaker.
The Mets are hungry for October baseball and plan on starting Max Scherzer in Game 1, and a toss-up between former Cy Young winner Jacob deGrom and Chris Bassitt, who was acquired by the Mets only this past spring.
Their lineup is a strong one, filled with 2022 NL batting title holder Jeff McNeil, Pete Alonso, known for home run hitting although has been consistent all year, and Francisco Lindor.
Although the Mets have been a notable force all season long, don’t count out the San Diego Padres. Head-to-head this year, the Padres beat the Mets 4-2, thus winning the season series. However, San Diego only faced Scherzer once and never dealt with deGrom due to his extended time out due to injury.
The Padres’ last playoff appearance was in the shortened 2020 season, where San Diego made it to the NLDS and was defeated by another California team, the LA Dodgers.
Additionally, the Padres will be the underdog in the series against the Mets after losing their star player Fernando Tatis Jr. due to performance-enhancing drugs. However, San Diego has made a considerable run without him, becoming the fifth seed in the NL with a two-game lead over the Phillies.
Both Wild Card series are going to be fierce, with no teams going down without a fight. NL playoff baseball begins Oct. 6 with the Cardinals vs Phillies game at 2:07 p.m. ET and the Mets vs. Padres game at 8:07 p.m. ET
Allie Wenskoski is a first-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact her, please contact amw7637@psu.edu.
