Philadelphia Phillies first baseman Rhys Hoskins (17) congratulates second baseman Jean Segura (2) during the ninth inning against the St. Louis Cardinals during Game 1 of the Wild Card series for the 2022 MLB Playoffs at Busch Stadium. Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports

Phillies' ninth-inning rally stuns Cardinals in NLWC Game 1

By Mike Santa Barbara | Last updated 10/7/22

The St. Louis Cardinals held a 2-0 advantage over the Philadelphia Phillies heading into the ninth inning, sitting just three outs away from taking a 1-0 lead in the best-of-three wildcard series.

It seemed like the perfect scenario. After all, the St. Louis Cardinals were 93-0 all-time in the postseason when leading by two or more runs through eight innings.

Only, no one told the Phillies that stat.

After being held to just two hits on the day, the Phillies' offense rallied with one out in the ninth, scoring six runs to take the lead and stun the Busch Stadium crowd.

The Phillies' six-run explosion is the most ever by a team trailing in the ninth inning in baseball playoff history.

Entering today, the Cardinals were 93-0 in their playoff history when leading by 2+ runs heading to the 9th.

Thanks to the @Phillies, they are now 93-1 pic.twitter.com/F0FPzvbq5X
— ESPN (@espn) October 7, 2022

The Phillies chased Cardinals' closer Ryan Helsley, who gave up four earned runs in the inning after allowing just six earned runs from July through September.

Fittingly, Jean Segura posted the game-winning hit for the Phillies. Before Friday, Segura had played the most career games of any active Major Leaguer without appearing in the postseason. With the Cardinals still leading 2-1 and the bases loaded, Segura drove a 2-2 pitch under the glove of second baseman Brendan Donovan, platting two runs.