With a reinforced lineup, rotation, and a fifth 'horseman', the Padres are pushing their chips to the center of the table. After an all-in trade deadline, here's what to expect throughout the weekend at Petco Park:
The Padres (60-49, 2nd in NL West) completed a three-game sweep of the New York Mets on Wednesday with a 5-0 shutout victory. Yu Darvish looked masterful on the mound through seven brilliant innings. The 38 year-old stuck out seven batters and picked up a historic victory, passing Hiroki Kuroda for the most wins between Nippon Professional Baseball and MLB. It was Darvish's 204th which broke the tie with Kuroda's 203 career victories. Offensively, Manny Machado continued mashing the ball with two hits and two RBIs. Gavin Sheets also joined in on the fun, launching a two-run homer off Mets starter Clay Holmes looking to break out of a tough slump.
The St. Louis Cardinals (55-55, 4th in NL Central) stand at .500 after dropping a series to a white-hot Miami Marlins club. Right-hander Cal Quantrill and three relievers held the Redbirds scoreless, while now-Houston Astro Jesús Sánchez mashed a two-run shot off starter Miles Mikolas for a 2-0 shutout victory. St. Louis did have multiple opportunities to score throughout the ballgame, most notably in the bottom of the fifth inning when Brendan Donovan came to the plate with one out and the bases loaded. Donovan wound up striking out and Iván Herrera followed with an inning-ending ground out to kill the rally.
Pitching matchups
Friday: Cardinals LHP Matthew Liberatore (6-8, 4.04 ERA) vs. Padres RHP Nick Pivetta (10-3, 2.81 ERA) 6:40 p.m. PT
Matthew Liberatore's last outing came against San Diego at Busch Stadium on July 26. The lefty took a loss despite tossing 4 1/3 innings of one-run baseball. He has better numbers on the road than at home, pitching to a 3.65 ERA with 42 strikeouts in away games.
Nick Pivetta also made his previous start at Busch Stadium and took a loss as well. The Padres' rotation anchor surrendered two earned runs through 6 1/3 innings but didn't get any run support, as San Diego was shut out 3-0. He looks to keep his great season going though, pitching to a 6-0 record with a 2.07 ERA and 75 strikeouts at Petco Park.
Saturday: Cardinals RHP Michael McGreevy (2-2, 4.91 ERA) vs. Padres RHP Randy Vásquez (3-4, 3.65 ERA) 7:10 p.m. PT
Michael McGreevy was roughed up by the Friars his last time on the bump. He gave up seven earned runs on nine hits through 4 2/3 innings of work. The righty hopes to be a rotation mainstay for the Cards, but will have to redeem himself this time around.
The consistency Randy Vásquez has given the Padres is astounding. Although he's worked less than five innings in his last three starts, he's only allowed four earned runs in 13 1/3 innings thrown. It has been keeping San Diego in the game long enough to win, as the Friars came away with victories in those three starts by Vásquez.
Sunday: Cardinals RHP Andre Pallante (6-7, 4.62 ERA) vs. Padres TBD 1:10 p.m. PT
Andre Pallante earned a victory in his most recent outing against the Marlins. He fired seven shutout frames while striking out four hitters. He's 2-4 on the road with a 4.82 ERA and 19 walks this season.
Story will be updated once San Diego has announced a starting pitcher for Sunday's game.
Who's hot?
Cardinals:
RF Jordan Walker is getting on-base at a .352 clip in his last 49 at-bats. SS Masyn Wynn collected three hits including two doubles and three RBIs in two games played against the Marlins. He's hitting .292 over his last seven contests. LHP JoJo Romero is pitching to a 0.34 ERA with 30 strikeouts and two wins in his last 30 appearances out of the Cardinals bullpen.
Padres:
1B Luis Arraez is currently riding a 13 game hitting streak and has powered up as of late. He's collected four extra-base hits and six RBIs across that span and is slashing .373/.422/.475 over his previous 15 games played. 3B Manny Machado is in the midst of one of his best offensive seasons in a Padres uniform. He hit .333 with seven home runs, 24 RBIs, and a 1.003 OPS. He's slowly beginning to put his name in the National League MVP conversation and can elevate his chances with similar production throughout the last two months of the regular season. RF Fernando Tatis Jr. is 10-for-27 and getting on-base at a .485 clip in his previous seven contests.
Early takeaways
The Friars enter this series with a buffered lineup. On Thursday, A.J. Preller pulled off a flurry of moves that brought Baltimore Orioles slugger Ryan O'Hearn and nifty outfielder Ramón Laureano to San Diego. Both men will be inserted into a Padres lineup that, a few games before the deadline, started showing signs of life. Both Laureano and O'Hearn can play the outfield, with the latter also being able to play first base and slot into the designated-hitter role.
Preller also addressed the catching dilemma with the addition of Freddy Fermin in a swap that sent starters Ryan Bergert and Stephen Kolek to the Kansas City Royals. In addition to the move, Martín Maldonado was designated for assignment. But the shocker of the deadline was the blockbuster trade that helped the Padres acquire closer Mason Miller and left-handed starter J.P. Sears from the Athletics. The return was more than substantial. The Padres parted with their no.1 overall prospect (no. 3 per MLB Pipeline) shortstop Leo De Vries and right-handers Braden Nett, Henry Baez, and Eduarniel Núñez.
In the win now move, San Diego added a fifth 'horseman' to the foursome of Adrian Morejon, Jeremiah Estrada, Jason Adam, and Robert Suarez, giving them arguably the best high-leverage arsenal in all of baseball. Sears will help fortify the starting rotation as they await the return of ace Michael King. The new-look Padres hold a three-game lead over the Cincinnati Reds in the NL Wild Card standings, while trailing the Los Angeles Dodgers by just three games in the NL West. With the division in reach and in the midst of a five-game winning streak, look for the Friars to come out with an all-systems-go attitude with 53 games remaining in the regular season.