Philadelphia ? Roy Halladay came to Philadelphia to pitch in October, knowing the regular season was a necessary formality.

Halladay’s first trip to the postseason was quite a memorable one, though it ended in bitter disappointment. The two-time Cy Young Award winner, his teammates and just about everyone else in Philadelphia expects the Phillies to win the World Series this time around.

First, they have to beat the red-hot St. Louis Cardinals in the NL division series. Game 1 is today at Citizens Bank Park, with Halladay opposing Kyle Lohse.

Led by their Four Aces, the Phillies cruised to their fifth straight NL East title, winning a franchise-record and major league-best 102 games.

The Cardinals needed an incredible collapse by Atlanta and help from Philadelphia to earn the wild card. St. Louis trailed the Braves by 101/2 games on Aug. 25, but went 23-8 the rest of the way and got in after Game 162 when the Phillies completed a three-game sweep of Atlanta.

The Cardinals (90-72) won six of nine against Philadelphia during the season, with two of those wins coming right after the Phillies wrapped up the division, but players from both teams say it’s a whole new ballgame now.