The St. Louis Cardinals had a surprisingly good week. The team took two games from both the Milwaukee Brewers and the Minnesota Twins as they looked to keep their playoff hopes alive. St. Louis moved back to .500 (65-65) and heading into Monday, they are five games outside the final spot in the NL wildcard race.
They will head back to Busch Stadium on Monday to take on one of those teams currently holding one of the three wildcard spots in the National League, the San Diego Padres.
Here are the probable pitching matchups for the series
The Cardinals will start the series with Kyle Gibson (7-5, 4.42) on the mound in the team's return to Busch Stadium. He is coming off a solid start against the Milwaukee Brewers where he allowed only two runs on seven hits across 5.1 innings of work. He picked up five strikeouts and walked two batters.
The Padres will go with Randy Vásquez (3-6, 4.63) in the first game of the series. He allowed three runs in his last outing against the Pittsburgh Pirates across 5.2 innings pitched. He has not done great on the road this season as he has a 6.08 ERA away from Petco Park.
Game two of the series will belong to Miles Mikolas (8-10, 5.19) for the Cardinals. The 36 year old is coming off a fantastic start the last time out as he pitched six shutout innings against the NL Central leading Milwaukee Brewers. He will look for his second straight quality start of the season on Tuesday.
The Padres will look for another great start from Dylan Cease (12-10, 3.43) on Tuesday. The right hander was acquired at the beginning of the season from the Chicago White Sox and has already become a fan favorite among Padres fans. He recorded the team's second no-hitter in franchise history last month. In his last outing, Cease picked up the loss against the New York Mets after allowing three runs (two earned) in 6.1 innings of work.
The Cardinals will give another start to Andre Pallante (6-6, 3.84) on Wednesday as they await the return of Lance Lynn from the injured list. Pallante isn't making the decision easy to remove him from the rotation as he has been one of the better pitchers for St. Louis over the recent stretch. He picked up two seven inning quality starts over his last two appearances against the Los Angeles Dodgers and Minnesota Twins, both playoff contenders. He will look to do the same thing against another top team in the National League.
The Padres will go with Joe Musgrove (4-4, 4.43) on Wednesday. He will be making his fourth start since returning from the injured list. Musgrove was out for most of the summer as he was dealing with right elbow inflammation. His last start was the best of the season for Musgrove as he threw seven shutout innings against the New York Mets. The 31 year old only allowed one hit in and struck out nine in the contest.
The series finale will belong to Sonny Gray (11-9, 4.09) on Thursday, and consistency is the name of the game for the start for the team's staff ace. Since the beginning of July, Gray has posted a 5.83 ERA and has allowed a home run in seven of his last nine starts. In his last outing in his return to Target Field to face his former team, the Minnesota Twins, Gray allowed five runs on seven hits across six innings of work. He walked two and allowed two home runs in the start.
The Padres will hand the ball to Michael King (11-7, 3.14) for the final game at Busch Stadium. King was acquired by San Diego in the beginning of the season in a move that sent Juan Soto to the New York Yankees. He has posted a 2.29 ERA and only allowed two home runs since returning from the All Star Break.
Game Times, How to Watch
Game 1: 7:45 PM EST
Game 2: 7:45 PM EST
Game 3: 7:45 PM EST
Game 14: 2:15 PM EST
All games will be available on Bally Sports Midwest as well as San Diego Padres TV.
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