Padres at Cardinals
St. Louis Cardinals rookie Aledmys Diaz made quite the introduction to the San Diego Padres in April, going 9-for-11 with one home run and three RBIs to help his team take two of three at Petco Park. Diaz, who has reached base safely in 21 straight contests, will look for more of the same on Monday as the Cardinals continue their 10-game homestand by playing the opener of a four-game series against San Diego.
St. Louis' struggles at Busch Stadium have been prevalent throughout the season, as the club dropped two of three against Miami to fall to 20-28 at home. Matt Holliday batted cleanup for the first time in 2016 and homered among his three hits in Sunday's 6-3 setback, but he was just 1-for-5 with three strikeouts against San Diego earlier in the season. The Padres are coming off the high of their first sweep of the campaign following Sunday's 5-3 victory over San Francisco. Matt Kemp homered for the second straight contest but is just 3-for-15 lifetime versus Monday starter Mike Leake, who grew up in San Diego County.
TV: 8:15 p.m. ET, FSN San Diego, FSN Midwest (St. Louis)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Padres LH Christian Friedrich (4-5, 4.50 ERA) vs. Cardinals RH Mike Leake (6-7, 4.14)
Friedrich fell to 0-3 with a bloated 7.20 ERA in his last three starts after allowing three runs and seven hits in five innings of a 3-1 setback to the Los Angeles Dodgers on July 10. The 29-year-old, who has been taken deep six times in his last five outings, has been roughed up in five career appearances versus St. Louis. Friedrich has permitted eight runs and nine hits with five walks over seven frames in five career games against the Cardinals, with his lone start in those meetings coming with Colorado in 2012.
Leake snapped a three-game losing streak with a dominant outing on July 10, striking out a season-high 10 batters in seven innings of a 5-1 triumph at Milwaukee. The 28-year-old did not walk a batter for the second straight turn and fifth time in seven contests. Leake, who own a 1-2 career record versus San Diego, was fortunate to walk away with a no-decision against the Padres on April 24 after yielding five runs in as many frames.
WALK-OFFS
1. San Diego C Christian Bethancourt homered on Sunday and also went deep versus Leake on April 24.
2. St. Louis has recorded at least one homer in each of its last eight contests, but has only a 4-4 mark to show for it.
3. Padres 3B Yangervis Solarte has hit safely in three straight and 17 of his last 19 games.