St. Louis Cardinals: 6 Keys to Winning the Series Against Philadelphia Phillies

The St. Louis Cardinals (23-19) lost two of their city's more beloved sports figures in the offseason: Albert Pujols, who walked away after he was offered excessive millions by the Angels, and former manager Tony La Russa, who called it quits and retired at the age of 67.

The Cards have not fielded a team without Pujols since 2000, but they seem to be playing very well this year as newcomers have stepped up their game, including Carlos Beltran and Rafael Furcal.

The Philadelphia Phillies (21-22), on the other hand, have suffered injury after injury and endured many struggles to start the 2012 season as they still sit in the cellar in the NL East; they continue to stay afloat and hover around the .500 mark.

These two powerhouse teams hook up this weekend, and I have compiled a list of the six keys the Cardinals will need if they want to win the series against those fighting Phils.

1. Win the First Two Games of the Series

The first key to winning the series against the always-dangerous Phillies is to win the first three games of the four-game set. Of course, in a perfect world, a team would love to take the first two or three games of any series.

However, Game four will feature one of the best starting pitchers over the last decade or so: Roy Halladay. He is what you call a game-stopper, and if the Phillies win either of the first two contests, there is a good chance they will take the series.

Entering Tuesday, Halladay sports a 4-3 record and a 3.22 ERA. In his last outing, he tossed eight strong innings, allowed just three earned runs on seven base hits for his fourth win of the year.

Before that game against the Cubs, the two-time Cy Young had only fallen to the .500 mark one time in his career with the Phillies, but quickly moved back to above .500 with the win in his last outing.

This season, Halladay has tossed at least seven innings in eight of his nine starts, and he has lasted eight innings on three different occasions; the only game in which he failed to reach the seventh inning came against the Braves after he got knocked around for eight earned runs.

Other than that one outing, he has not surrendered more than three earned runs in any start this season and he has allowed two or fewer in six of those nine games. Not to mention, he has only been tagged for three home runs, two of which came in his last outing.

So, the Cardinals definitely need to find a way to win each of the first two games if they want to be in a good position to win the series because game three will be a battle.

(Although they have to face Cliff Lee in Game 2, he is 0-2 with a 2.66 ERA and has been victim to low run support. The Cards will counter with one of their best starters, Kyle Lohse, who is 5-1 with a 2.91 ERA. So, yes, they have to face Lee, but if they are able to stay in the game, they have a good shot at winning with the struggling Phils pen; later I’ll discuss their troubles.)

2. The Cards Will Not Face Cole Hamels

Although the Cardinals do have to face one of the games toughest pitchers in Halladay, fortunately they will not have to square off against the top Phillies pitcher, Cole Hamels.

Hamels is 6-1 for the ’08 World Series champs with a stellar 2.48 ERA over his first 54.1 innings of work. The two-time All-Star has been one of the most dominant starters in all of MLB this season.

He has not allowed more than three earned runs in any of his eight outings this season. In fact, he has surrendered one earned run on three occasions, two earned runs three times and three earned runs in two of those starts.

Although he does not have the type of stamina as Halladay, he still is able to pitch deep into the game; he has lasted at least seven innings in five of his eight outings, including two eight-inning performances.

Only one time this season he has not made it through six full innings, and that happened in his first start of the year; he tossed 5.1 innings and allowed three earned runs (four overall) to the Miami Marlins.

Hamels suffered his first and only loss of the season against the Marlins in his season debut and has since won six of seven decisions with one no-decision.

Everyone is aware of the Phillies' stellar starting pitchers, and the Cardinals are just lucky their schedule does not match up with Hamels and the Phils.

3. Keep Carlos Ruiz and Hunter Pence in Check

With the absence of slugger and former MVP Ryan Howard and star second baseman Chase Utley, the Phillies offense has really struggled to produce the power numbers it has been accustomed to over the last five years or so.

The hottest hitter in the Phillies lineup is the catcher Carlos Ruiz, who leads the ball club with a .355 batting average and 29 RBI—not to mention he has crushed seven long balls on the year.

Since 2007, Ruiz has been their regular catcher for the most part and has only hit over .300 one time (in 2010 he hit .302 in 121 games). He has never hit more than nine home runs in a single season and the most RBI he has driven in was 54 back in ’07.

This season, he is on pace for about 25-28 home runs and 115 RBI, which he probably will not meet, especially since Howard and Utley will be back in the lineup at some point this year.

The other hot hitter in the Phils lineup this season has been the newly acquired outfielder Hunter Pence. In his first full season with Philadelphia, he leads the club with 10 home runs. Although he is hitting .268, he is second on the club with 28 RBI, and he has been one of the more consistent hitters in the Phillies lineup.

From 2008 to 2010, he smashed 25 home runs each season and he finished with 22 last year, as he split the year between the Astros and Phillies. Not to mention, he is a career .291 hitter and is always a threat at the plate.

With the struggles of Jimmy Rollins at the top of the order, Pence and Ruiz have been great surprises for the last-place Phillies. If the Cardinals are going to have any chance at winning this series, these are the two batters they really need to focus on at the dish.

4. Get into the Phillies' Bullpen Early

Everyone is aware that the Phillies have one of the best starting rotations around when healthy. This season, their starters have pitched well for the most part—some have just been victims of lack of run support.

Their collective team ERA is 3.62, which is third in their own division and ninth overall in the NL. However, their bullpen has been a different story.

So far, they have tossed 101.1 innings and surrendered 55 earned runs (4.89 ERA). Relief pitching has been one of their weaknesses, other than their struggling offense, and one of the reasons they are fighting their way out of last-place in the East.

Other than Raul Valdes (0-0, 0 ERA), Antonio Bastardo (1-1, 1.46 ERA), Jonathan Papelbon (0-1, 2.20 ERA) and Joe Savery (0-0, 3.60 ERA), the rest of their pen has very high ERAs. Without these four relievers, the relievers ERA would be 6.82 (44 earned runs in 58 innings).

For example, Jose Contreras is 1-0 with a 7.20 ERA as he has tossed 10 innings on the year over 12 outings and allowed eight earned runs on 12 base hits. In five relief appearances, Kyle Kendrick is 0-1 with a 9.53 ERA after he surrendered six earned runs in just 5.2 innings.

Even veteran Chad Qualls is struggling this season as he is 1-1 with a 4.20 ERA after he has allowed seven earned runs in just his 15 innings of work (18 appearances).

If the Cardinals are able to force the Phillies to rely on their bullpen and not their starting pitchers, they will have an easier time winning the series (at least the first two games).

5. Keep Jimmy Rollins off the Base Paths

Although former MVP Jimmy Rollins has really faltered at the dish this season, he is always a threat on the base paths and a force to be reckoned with when he is on his game.

However, he might not be back in the lineup this weekend after his wife gave birth to their first child on Sunday night. It is unsure if he will join the team in the Nationals series but should meet the team in St. Louis for this weekend’s series.

Although Rollins has struggled getting on base this season, as his on-base percentage is just .295, which is the lowest in his entire career, he has been able to swipe nine bases on the year in just 10 attempts.

Last year, he finished with 30 stolen bases in 38 attempts; his most prolific stealing season came back in 2008 when swiped 47 bases in just 50 attempts. In his career, Rollins has racked up 381 stolen bases and is definitely a threat, whether he is hitting well or not.

Yes, Rollins is hitting just .229 on the year throughout his first 38 games, but there is always a chance he can have a big game and rack up some stolen bases; he has the ability to be a game-changer, whether he gets on base via a hit or a walk.

The Cardinals need to watch Rollins when he gets on the base paths, especially in Game 1 when Lee is on the bump. He might try and make something happen since they have struggled to score runs for Lee this season.

6. Rafael Furcal and Carlos Beltran Continue to Stay Hot

Carlos Beltran is putting together one of his best seasons of his career and he is 35 years old! No one thought he would be able to pull a comeback after struggling over the last three years due to injuries.

The former Rookie of the Year in 1999 and five-time All-Star has already jacked 13 home runs and driven in 33 while batting at a .291 clip over his first 39 games. He has definitely been one of the major reasons why the Cardinals are first in most offensive categories in the league.

St. Louis leads the league with a .279 batting average, 217 runs scored and 53 home runs on the young season.

 In his career, Beltran has smashed 315 career home runs and has finished with 30 or more home runs on three separate occasions. His most long shots in a single season came back in his second year with the Mets in 2006 when he crushed 41.

If not for Beltran, the Cardinals might not be in first place in the NL Central.

Another reason why St. Louis is leading the charge in the division is because of the superb hitting displayed by newcomer and veteran Rafael Furcal. After spending his first six seasons with the Braves and his next six with the Dodgers, he struggled in 50 games last year with the Cards but has turned it around this season.

The speedy, hard-throwing shortstop out of the Dominican Republic is hitting .352 on the year with two home runs and 20 RBI over his first 40 contests. Furcal is the table-setter for the Cards and has shown that by scoring 29 runs and swiping eight bases on the year.

Not to mention, the former 2000 rookie of the year sports a .410 on-base percentage, which is exactly where you want your leadoff hitter to be. If not for Furcal, the Cards might not be sitting in first place.

Especially with the loss of slugger Lance Berkman due to a torn meniscus a couple of days ago, they need Beltran and Furcal to continue to stay hot and lead this offense into the summer.

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