Cardinals vs. Phillies: Philadelphia’s Sluggers Make Them the Clear Team to Beat

Things seemed to be looking good for the Cardinals in Game 1 against the Cardinals. Lance Berkman had hit a three-run homerun in the first inning and St. Louis was sitting with a nice 3-1 lead. Then the bottom of the fifth happened.

Ryan Howard belted a three-run homer of his own, giving Philadelphia the lead. After a Shane Victorino single, Raul Ibanez belted a two-run shot of his own. All of a sudden the Cardinals, the rest of the National League and the entire American League was put on notice.

The Phillies are the best team in baseball. We know that the pitching staff is vaunted, but there was one persisting question. How would their aging offense manage in the playoffs? Would the bats fall flat like they did last October?

Well, a lot of games remain, but the first game is showing that the answer is a resounding no.

Philadelphia didn’t stop there, as they went on to an 11-6 win. Halladay didn’t allow a single run after Berkman’s blast, retiring each of hist last 23 batters.

It’s not just the arms. Philadelphia’s bats are clicking. The pitching was great, but you don’t win 102 games on pitching alone. Even a great pitching team will only win between 80-90 games if the bats don’t back them up.

The Phillies are not just built for the playoffs, but now that they’re there and the bats are swinging, they are in it to win it.

There simply isn’t a team left with the same caliber of pitchers that Philadelphia has. Remember, the Phillies very nearly outpitched the Giants in the 2010 NLCS (Philadelphia actually scored more runs than the Giants). Since that series, the Phillies have added Cliff Lee to the rotation and Hunter Pence to the lineup.

Philadelphia also won’t hit a team that has San Francisco’s pitching.

It’s just one game and you never want to go too strong off of that, but Philadelphia’s arms are undeniable and their bats seem ready to join the party this October.

Read more Philadelphia Phillies news on BleacherReport.com