What a difference ten months makes. Last time the Phillies faced the Cardinals, they were riding the joint Albert Pujols-Yadier Molina retirement tour into a NL Central title under rookie manager Oli Marmol and vibes were good in the Gateway City.
This is not that same St. Louis Cardinals team.
The Phils took the first game of the series on Friday night without much in the way of drama or fight. Chris Sanchez started off shaky but quickly settled into a really nice outing and the offense did more than enough to back him up.