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After 162 grueling games, we’ve finally arrived at the postseason. With the new playoff format, we’ll see two three-game Wild Card series. The National League games should be very competitive this year. Let’s preview Game 1 of both of the wild card series games that will be played on Friday for MLB betting.

Game 1 of the MLB 2022 National League Wild Card Series

Philadelphia Phillies @ St. Louis Cardinals

After a phenomenal second half, the St. Louis Cardinals ran away from the rest of the National League Central and claimed the division title. By winning the division and earning the #3 seed in the National League playoff standings, the Cardinals won the right to host the first-round series against the final wild card team, the Philadelphia Phillies. These two will start their postseason series on Friday afternoon.

The Philadelphia Phillies held off the Milwaukee Brewers for the final playoff spot. Philadelphia got off to a poor start to the season, but after the firing of Joe Girardi, the Phillies played much better. Interim manager Rob Thomson looks to be a strong candidate for the permanent job next season. Even with Bryce Harper missing a lot of games and playing through injuries, the Phillies were still able to score a lot of runs. Kyle Schwarber led the league in homers, JT Realmuto was one of the best hitting catchers in the game, and Nick Castellanos has caught fire over the last couple of months.

While the Phillies will send Zack Wheeler to the hill in their first postseason action since 2011, the Cardinals have yet to announce who their Game 1 starter will be. Could we see the grizzled veteran Adam Wainwright? Miles Mikolas has been the Cards’ most consistent starter in the second half. Jordan Montgomery was great after coming over from the Yankees, but struggled in his last three starts, or could we see Jack Flaherty, who is just getting back to full strength after returning from injury.

The Cardinals will host this best-of-three series, and will have a huge home-field advantage. St. Louis had a 53-28 home record this season, so the Phillies will have a tough time taking two games at Busch Stadium.

San Diego Padres @ New York Mets

After losing out on the division crown in the last week of the season, the Mets find themselves having to host a Wild Card series against the San Diego Padres. Although the Mets will host the series, the Padres won four out of six against the Mets this season.

The Padres are slated to send Yu Darvish to the mound in Game 1 of the series. In his career starts against the Mets, Darvish has a 5-0 record with a 2.56 ERA. Future Hall of Famer Max Scherzer will get the nod in Game 1 for the Mets. Scherzer has thrown well in the postseason throughout his career. He’ll have to contend with a tough Padres lineup that includes Manny Machado, Juan Soto, and Josh Bell.

We’ll see if the Mets not winning the division affects their play. Many feel that the Padres underachieved this season. This should be a very competitive series.