Padres at Cardinals
The San Diego Padres have won four straight series and nine of 12 games overall to remain in the mix within the forgiving National League West. The Padres (31-36) aim to continue their strong surge on Monday when they begin the second leg of their 10-game road trip with the first of three contests against the St. Louis Cardinals (35-28).
Eric Hosmer belted a two-run homer in Sunday's 3-1 victory versus Miami to highlight a 5-for-12 series with two runs scored. The 28-year-old didn't fare as well in last month's four-game series against St. Louis by going 3-for-16 heading into Monday's tilt versus Jack Flaherty. The right-hander hopes to put forth a better performance than the rest of the Cardinals' pitchers on Sunday, as the contingent walked a season-high 11 batters in a 6-3 setback at Cincinnati. Jose Martinez, who went 5-for-14 versus San Diego last month, is 14-for-28 with four homers, nine RBIs and eight runs scored during his current eight-game hitting streak.
TV: 8:15 p.m. ET, FS San Diego, FS Midwest (St. Louis)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Padres RH Jordan Lyles (2-2, 4.70 ERA) vs. Cardinals RH Jack Flaherty (2-2, 3.20)
Lyles endured his worst start of the season on Tuesday, surrendering two homers for the third time in four outings en route to allowing eight runs on 11 hits over 4 1/3 innings of a 14-1 shellacking versus Atlanta. The 27-year-old pitched significantly better in his last outing against St. Louis, permitting two runs on five hits in as many frames of a 2-1 setback on May 10. Tommy Pham homered off Lyles in that contest to send the right-hander to an 0-2 mark with a 4.15 ERA in seven career appearances versus the Cardinals.
Flaherty suffered his first loss since April 28 after getting shredded for six runs on eight hits over five innings of an 11-3 setback versus Miami. The 22-year-old has been taken deep in four straight outings, but his 42-to-10 strikeout-to-walk ratio has helped limit the damage. Flaherty pitched well in his lone career encounter versus San Diego, yielding one run on three hits over five innings of a no-decision on Sept. 6.
WALK-OFFS
1. St. Louis INF Matt Carpenter is 10-for-26 with a homer, two RBIs and six runs scored during his six-game hitting streak.
2. Padres OF-2B Jose Pirela is riding a six-game hitting streak into the opener versus the Cardinals, against whom he went 6-for-17 with three doubles and five runs scored last month.
3. Cardinals LF Marcell Ozuna has hit safely in eight of nine games this month and went 7-for-17 in the previous series against San Diego.