Pennsylvania Sports Bettors Embrace Phillies First Postseason Appearance Since Legalization

Pennsylvania was the fourth state to allow online sports betting and the seventh to start accepting legal sports wagers.

Let's take a look below at what Pennsylvania bettors can key in on for Philadelphia's postseason:

The sixth-placed Phillies (87-74 entering Wednesday's regular-season finale) will take on the NL Central Division Champion and third-placed St. Louis Cardinals (93-68) at Busch Stadium in a best-of-three Wild-Card series (all in St. Louis) starting with Friday's game 1 (2:07 pm ET on ABC).

The last time the Phillies played a playoff game, they were eliminated in Game 5 of the NLDS by the Cardinals in Philadelphia on Oct. 7, 2011. 

Eleven years to the date, the Phillies, who began with Zack Wheeler (12-7, 2.82 ERA) in Game 1 vs. Adam Wainwright (11-12, 3.71), have gone 4-3 against the Cardinals this season.

The second-placed NL East champion Atlanta Braves (101-60) await the winner in the NLDS. Atlanta went 4-3 against the Cardinals and 11-8 against the division-rival Phillies this year.

Latest DraftKings Odds

 DraftKings Sportsbook PA had the Phillies at +115 to win the series over the Cardinals (-135) on Wednesday morning.

The Phillies are the last in the top-5 list of favorites to win the National League Championship Series at +1100 and are linked with the San Diego Padres at +2500 to win the World Series.

The LA Dodgers, at +170, was called the favorite to win the NL, and at +350, the favorite to capture the Fall Classic.

Red October is back in the MLB Playoffs after 11 years of absence, and it is the first postseason opportunity for PA sportsbooks bettors to wager on the Philadelphia Phillies since the state's first legal sports bet was taken in 2019.

Pennsylvania was the fourth state to allow online sports betting and the seventh to start accepting legal sports wagers.

The sixth-placed Phillies (87-74 at the start o Wednesday's regular-season finale) will take on the third-placed St. Louis Cardinals (93-68, who is NL Central Division Champion) at Busch Stadium in a best-of-three Wild-Card series (all in St. Louis) starting with Friday's game 1 (2:07 pm ET on ABC).

The last time the Phillies went to the playoff, they were cut in Game 5 of the NLDS by the Cardinals in Philadelphia on Oct. 7, 2011. 

Eleven years to the date, the Phillies, who will begin with Zack Wheeler (12-7, 2.82 ERA) in Game 1 vs. Adam Wainwright (11-12, 3.71), have gone 4-3 against the Cardinals this season.

The second-seeded Atlanta Braves (101-60, NL East champion) await the winner in the NLDS. Atlanta went 4-3 against the Cardinals and 11-8 against the division-rival Phillies this season.

Most Recent Playoff Performances for Phillies, Cardinals

The Phillies lost to the Cardinals in the 2011 best-of-five NLDS, 3-2, with three of those games decided by one run.

Last season, the Cardinals lost, 3-1, in a one-game Wild Card playoff to the Dodgers on Oct. 6. None other than Dodgers own Albert Pujols broke the 700 home run threshold in his return to the Cardinals organization this season.

Phillies in New MLB Playoff Format

As a chapter of the new collective bargaining agreement with the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA), MLB expanded the postseason field from 10 to 12 teams this season. The Phillies will be the 3rd NL East team in the playoffs and the last one to earn a berth in the NL.

There will be three Wild Card berths (up from two), in both the American League and National League, with the top two seeds in each league receiving first-round byes.

The other teams will pair up for the best-of-three Wild Card Series, in which all three games will be played at the home of the higher placement. The winners advance to each league's Division Series.

Pennsylvania Sports Betting Strong

Mobile and total retail sports betting handled in Pennsylvania were more than $363 million in august. It's 7.9% bigger from July ($336.51 million) and up 4.2% from August 2021 ($348.52 million).

91.8% of the state's sports gambling market is made by Pennsylvania sports betting apps. The handle was slightly more than $333 million, up 6.9% from July ($311.53 million) and up 4.7% from August 2021 ($318.13 million).

Those figures show a healthy betting interest in the Phillies as they try to capture their first World Series title since 2008.