Series Preview: Padres Head to St. Louis

Jun 20, 2014; St. Louis, MO, USA; A general view of Busch Stadium during the game between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Philadelphia Phillies. Mandatory Credit: Scott Rovak-USA TODAY Sports

Series Preview

The Padres (57-62) take their hot streak back to the Midwest to take on the St. Louis Cardinals (63-56). The Cardinals are a good team but the Padres have been giving them trouble. The Friars won the series at Petco Park late last month, outscoring the Cardinals 17-8 in the 3 games. The Padres have been giving the National League Central teams fits all year. The Padres are 15-10 against NL Central teams this year and they have won at least one series against each team in that division.

The Cardinals are in 3^rd place in the NL Central and just 2 games behind the Brewers. That division is getting crowded at the top. If the season ended today, the Cardinals would be playing in the Wild Card Game against the Pirates. They have stumbled a bit coming out of the gate for the second half with an 11-12 record. The Red Birds made some big waves at the trade deadline making up for some injuries they have suffered this year. Yadier Molina, Jaime Garcia and Michael Wacha are all out for an extended period of time. The Cardinals added John Lackey and Justin Masterson to the rotation at the trade deadline.