First pitch is 6:45 PM CT at Busch, and the Padres are running Wandy Peralta as an opener in front of Lucas Giolito — a piggyback look the front office is using to shorten Giolito's exposure the third time through. Peralta sits at 1-0 with a 2.18 ERA out of the pen, so this is essentially a leverage reliever giving you an inning before the real start begins.
Dustin May is the much more interesting arm in this one. The 4-6 record and 4.21 ERA flatter nobody, but May has quietly turned into one of the better Cardinals starters over the last six weeks — a 2.55 ERA over his last six starts with five quality starts, capped by 6 scoreless against the Mets on June 9 (4 hits, 6 K, 1 BB on 101 pitches). The early-season version is gone.
Momentum says Padres. San Diego just took 3 of 4 in Baltimore, including a 9-3 thumping and a 5-2 series-clincher Sunday where Mason Miller closed it out before heading to the bereavement list. St. Louis, meanwhile, just dropped 2 of 3 in Minnesota and is 2-3 over its last 5 — last night was a 5-4 walkoff loss to the Twins that stings.
The Padres' lineup is a problem, though. They're without Jake Cronenworth (concussion), Miguel Andujar (hamstring), Freddy Fermin (concussion), and Ramon Laureano (labrum surgery), and the rotation has been gutted by Yu Darvish, Joe Musgrove, Nick Pivetta, German Marquez, and Matt Waldron. That's why you're seeing the bullpen-game gambit in the first place.
- 7-day ilFreddy Fermin C — The Padres placed Fermin (concussion) on the 7-day injured list Sunday.
- 7-Day ILJake Cronenworth 2B — Cronenworth (concussion) has been participating in light baseball activities and is "ramping up," per MLB.com.
- 10-Day-ILLuis Campusano C — Campusano (toe) continues to rehab in Arizona but hasn't yet been scheduled for a minor-league rehab assignment, per MLB.com.
- 10-Day-ILMiguel Andujar DH — Andujar (hamstring) remains out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Reds.
- bereavementMason Miller RP — Miller secured the save Sunday against the Orioles, throwing 1.1 clean innings. He struck out three.
- 15-Day-ILMatt Waldron SP — Waldron (forearm) made his first rehab appearance with Triple-A El Paso on Sunday, tossing 2.1 scoreless innings.
- 15-Day-ILGerman Marquez SP — Marquez (forearm) tossed four scoreless innings for Triple-A El Paso on Sunday, allowing one hit and issuing one walk while striking out two batters.
- 15-Day-ILJeremiah Estrada RP — Estrada (2-2) picked up the loss after giving up the eventual game-winning run in a 3-2 loss to Philadelphia on Tuesday.
- Day-To-DayPacky Naughton RP — Naughton will undergo surgery next month to repair the damaged UCL in his left elbow, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.
- Day-To-DaySem Robberse SP — Robberse (elbow) signed a minor-league contract with the Cardinals on Monday, which includes an invitation to spring training, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.
- Day-To-DayVictor Santos RP — The Red Sox traded Santos (undisclosed) and Nick Robertson to the Cardinals on Friday in exchange for Tyler O'Neill (foot), Alex Speier of The Boston Globe reports.
- Day-To-DayIxan Henderson SP — Henderson (elbow) is starting the season on the 60-day injured list at Triple-A Memphis.
- Day-To-DayZack Thompson RP — The Cardinals reassigned Thompson (shoulder) to minor-league camp Monday.
- 15-Day-ILRyan Fernandez RP — Fernandez (back) is on track to begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A Memphis on Friday, Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat reports.
- 60-Day-ILRamon Urias 3B — Urias (elbow) returned to St. Louis to undergo an examination on his left elbow, Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat reports.
The Cards are the much healthier roster here and they're getting May at the right time, which is why the home side sits around -159. The counter is that the Padres bullpen has been the reason they've stayed in the wild card race — and if Giolito can give them 4 clean after Peralta's inning, this turns into a bullpen-vs-bullpen game where San Diego has the edge.