MLB: Phillies Ends NLDS Drought By Sweeping Cardinals in Wild Card Series

(Photo : Joe Puetz/Getty Images)
The Cardinals' loss also ended the careers of baseball legends Albert Pujols and Yadier Molina.

The Phillies swept the Cardinals in the National League Wild Card Series with a 2-0 win on Saturday.

In Game 2 of the NL Wild Card Series, Philadelphia's top players came out to play. Aaron Nola pitched 6 2/3 innings of scoreless baseball, Bryce Harper blasted a single home run in the second, and, in the fifth, Kyle Schwarber added a safety run and sacrifice hit, according to ESPN.

"It's a really good team over there," Harper stated after the game. He mentioned that they took advantage of the chance to come in and win games with a tremendous bunch of players and hoped to keep the momentum as they move to the NL Division Series.

Phillies Ends NL Division Drought, Legendary Careers of Pujols and Molina

The victory sends the Phillies back to the NL Division Series for the first time since 2011 and ends the careers of baseball icons Albert Pujols and Yadier Molina.

A single by Molina in the bottom of the ninth inning against Zach Eflin gave St. Louis a chance to win. However, the game was called when Tommy Edman committed a foul and was sent to third. Both of Pujols' final hits were singles.

On 101 pitches, Nola got six outs while walking one and left with two outs in the seventh. Then, with a runner on base, Jose Alvarado got rid of Molina with a popup to end the inning. Seranthony Dominguez struck out MVP hopefuls Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado in the eighth.

Wait for it. #redoctober #RingThebell pic.twitter.com/6M8iBeBlTs
— Ducis Rodgers (@duciswild) October 9, 2022

According to a report from 6 ABC Action News, the sweep gives the Phillies an additional day off before traveling to Atlanta, where they were 3-6 in the regular season. The Braves dominated their 11 matchups against the other teams this season, winning eight of those contests.

Decisive Moment

Before the start of this series, Cardinals head of baseball operations John Mozeliak described that as a "fork in the road." Despite the Cardinals' subsequent World Series victory and Tony La Russa's subsequent retirement announcement, Albert Pujols departed to play for the Los Angeles Angels that season, per Belleville News-Democrat.

Pujols and Molina have both said that this would be their final season with the Cardinals, and former ace Adam Wainwright is rumored to be considering retirement as well. It's quite doubtful that Arenado will choose to terminate his contract, but pitcher José Quintana and outfielder Corey Dickerson will be free agents in the offseason.

After a memorable reunion but a completely unremarkable finish, Yadier Molina and Albert Pujols called it quits on their respective careers. The crowd went wild when both Molina (40 minutes before the first pitch) and Pujols (10 minutes later) came out for pregame warmups. Their fans continued to cheer the Cardinals up until the end of the game, but it was not enough to prevent the series sweep from the Phillies.

Pure joy pic.twitter.com/TrjLmQdAnv
— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) October 9, 2022

Nolan Arenado, the club's third baseman, is now free from absolute team control. Although it is expected that he will return for the 2023 season, there is a player option on the horizon, as well as market factors that might raise his salary.