Padres Start Tough Road Trip With MLB-Best Cardinals

May 31, 2015; St. Louis, MO, USA; St. Louis Cardinals shortstop Jhonny Peralta (27) hits a one run single off of Los Angeles Dodgers relief pitcher Yimi Garcia (not pictured) during the eighth inning at Busch Stadium. The Cardinals defeated the Dodgers 3-1. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports

Game 2 Friday, 5:15pm

Andrew Cashner (3-9, 4.22 ERA) vs. Michael Wacha (10-3, 2.77 ERA)

Cashner has struggled mightily this season. In his last start, he was much better. He went 7 innings, allowed just two runs and struck out six with zero walks. Before that, he had allowed 5+ runs in three of five starts. He has appeared in 6 games against the Cardinals in his career but never started a game. He has a 3.68 ERA in 7 1/3 innings.

Wacha is a huge part of the young core the Cardinals have. He is 24 and already has 6 playoff appearances for the Cards. He has already doubled his career high for wins this year with 10. This will be his first appearance against the Padres. He has only allowed more than three runs in four of his 15 starts.

The Cardinals have several good hitters. Jhonny Peralta is the best hitting shortstop in the game right now. He leads the team with 11 home runs and is hitting .301. He has never faced Cashner.