ST. LOUIS (AP) St. Louis Cardinals hard-throwing closer Ryan Helsley is available for Game 1 of their National League wild-card series against the Philadelphia Phillies on Friday.

Helsley hurt his finger in his final regular-season tune-up this week but was included on manager Oliver Marmol's roster, which was due about three hours before first pitch in St. Louis. He had jammed his right middle finger on a fluke play against the Pirates on Tuesday, but he threw during a workout Thursday and pronounced himself ready to go for the best-of-three series.

Helsley leads one of the best bullpens in baseball, which includes fellow flamethrower Jordan Hicks, who recently spent a couple of weeks on the injured list with neck spasms and fatigue in his right arm. Right-handers Giovanny Gallegos, Steven Matz and Andre Pallante were joined by left-handers Packy Naughton and Zack Thompson.