Padres Start Tough Road Trip With MLB-Best Cardinals

Jun 23, 2015; San Francisco, CA, USA; San Diego Padres left fielder Justin Upton (10) reacts after striking out against the San Francisco Giants during the fourth inning at AT&T Park. Mandatory Credit: Ed Szczepanski-USA TODAY Sports

Game 4 Sunday, 11:15am

Ian Kennedy (4-7, 4.86 ERA) vs. Lance Lynn (5-4, 2.74 ERA)

Kennedy has allowed just one earned run in four straight starts. Unfortunately, he is only 1-2 in those starts. He is tied for the team lead with 17 home runs allowed. He has struggled in his 6 career starts against the Cardinals. He is 2-4 with a 9.00 ERA.

Matt Holliday will likely not be in this series. That will be a good thing for Kennedy. Holliday is 6 for 13 with two home runs off of him.

Lynn has allowed just three runs in his last four starts. He has shouldered a lot of the load with Wainwright out. He is 2-2 with a 3.52 ERA in four career starts against the Friars.

The Padres really need to play well in this series. Honestly, a series split would be big here. The Cardinals are the best team in baseball and the Padres are a bad game or two from being in an all-out tailspin. This year they have generally played better against better competition. A split would be great here, and actually I am going to say that it happens. The only direction the Padres can go is up, especially offensively.