Cardinals at Padres
Miles Mikolas will pitch at San Diego's Petco Park on Thursday for the first time since he was a member of the Padres in 2012 and 2013. The right-hander is thriving in his return to the major leagues as he takes the mound for the St. Louis Cardinals in the opener of their four-game series against San Diego.
Mikolas made 27 relief appearances for the Padres before spending part of 2014 with Texas and then pitching in Japan the past three seasons. The 29-year-old received a two-year, $15.5 million contract from the Cardinals over the winter, and the investment has looked good in the early going as Mikolas is sporting a stellar 4-0 record through six starts. St. Louis scored just one run in back-to-back losses to Minnesota after winning its previous five games by a total of six runs. San Diego posted a 2-1 victory over Washington on Wednesday to salvage the finale of the three-game series and is looking for Eric Hosmer to break out of a 2-for-20 funk, although both hits were homers.
TV: 10:10 p.m. ET, FS Midwest (St. Louis), FS San Diego
PITCHING MATCHUP: Cardinals RH Miles Mikolas (4-0, 2.70 ERA) vs. Padres RH Jordan Lyles (0-0, 3.66)
Mikolas defeated the Chicago Cubs in his last turn as he gave up seven hits over seven scoreless innings. A seventh-round pick of the Padres in the 2009 draft, Mikolas hasn't walked a batter in any of his last three turns and has issued just two against 31 strikeouts in 40 frames. "If I throw ball four, there's a 100 percent chance that guy's going to be on first base," Mikolas recently told reporters. "If you make him put it in play, I'll take my chances with those numbers."
Lyles will make his first start of the season after making 13 relief appearances. The 27-year-old is replacing Bryan Mitchell in the rotation after holding opposing batters to a .194 average in 19 2/3 innings out of the bullpen. Lyles is 0-1 with a 4.86 ERA in six career appearances (two starts) against St. Louis and has struggled with Dexter Fowler (3-for-6, homer, four walks).
WALK-OFFS
1. Cardinals 3B Jedd Gyorko is a scorching 18-for-36 with seven homers and 16 RBIs in 10 games against the Padres, the team for which he played from 2013-15.
2. St. Louis CF Tommy Pham (groin) is expected back in the lineup after missing the two-game series with Minnesota.
3. San Diego 3B Christian Villanueva is 0-for-25 over his last seven contests after striking out twice in four hitless at-bats on Wednesday.