Padres at Cardinals
St. Louis Cardinals infielder Jedd Gyorko has feasted on San Diego Padres pitching this year and will try to pick on his former team again Tuesday, when the teams continue their four-game series in St. Louis. Gyorko, who was traded from the Padres to the Cardinals in December for outfielder Jon Jay, went 3-for-3 with a solo home run to highlight a 10-2 win in the series opener on Monday.
That gave the 27-year-old three consecutive three-hit performances versus San Diego, each of which has come with a home run. Stephen Piscotty and Randal Grichuk also went deep in Monday's win as St. Louis improved to 2-2 on its 10-game homestand, a somewhat notable achievement for a team that entered the series with the third-worst winning percentage (.417) at home in the National League. Matt Kemp homered for the Padres, while Wil Myers went 0-for-4 with four strikeouts in the loss. Myers is hitless in 11 straight at-bats since slugging his 20th home run Friday against San Francisco.
TV: 8:15 p.m. ET, FSN San Diego, FSN Midwest (St. Louis)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Padres RH Colin Rea (5-3, 4.95 ERA) vs. Cardinals RH Carlos Martinez (8-6, 2.85)
Rea has been swapping quality starts with non-quality efforts since the beginning of June and was on the rocky end of things his last time out at Arizona. The 26-year-old gave up four runs and eight hits with three walks in 4 2/3 innings, which caused his road ERA to rise to 5.52. Rea has faced the Cardinals two times in his career and has been reached for eight runs in nine innings.
Since giving up 14 runs in 15 innings over a the course of three May starts, Martinez has posted a 1.02 ERA in a span of eight mostly dominant outings. He struck out a season-high 11 and allowed one run in five innings of a win at Milwaukee prior to the break. The former All-Star has posted a 5.51 ERA in five career meetings (two starts) with the Padres and will be wary of catcher Derek Norris, who is 3-for-5 with a triple against Martinez.
WALK-OFFS
1. Kemp needs one home run to reach 20 for the seventh time in his last eight seasons.
2. Grichuk has collected seven RBIs in his last six games.
3. The Padres are 10-26 all-time at the current Busch Stadium.