The San Diego Padres are looking for another strong showing from a batter on a roll versus the St. Louis Cardinals on Thursday at 10:10 p.m. ET, at Petco Park. Xander Bogaerts is currently on a two-game homer streak. Michael King (3-2, 2.95 ERA) gets the start for the Padres, who are 22-14 this season and second in the NL West. Matthew Liberatore (1-1, 4.50 ERA) is the expected starter for the Cardinals, who are 21-15 and second in the NL Central.
How to watch St. Louis Cardinals vs. San Diego Padres
Cardinals vs. Padres odds
Injury reports
Padres
Will Wagner: 10 Day IL (Oblique), Joe Musgrove: 15 Day IL (Elbow), German Marquez: 15 Day IL (Forearm), Nick Pivetta: 15 Day IL (Elbow), Bryan Hoeing: 60 Day IL (Elbow), Jhony Brito: 60 Day IL (Elbow), Jake Cronenworth: 7 Day IL (Concussion)
Cardinals
Ramón Urías: 10 Day IL (Elbow), Matt Pushard: 15 Day IL (Knee), Lars Nootbaar: 60 Day IL (Heels)
Stats to know
- San Diego’s Bogaerts is slashing .276/.357/.457 this season with seven home runs, 22 RBIs and an OPS of .813. He has a 14.7% strikeout rate and an 11.2% walk rate in 143 plate appearances, and he has scored 17 total runs. Bogaerts has recorded four steals on four attempts.
- In 150 plate appearances, Jackson Merrill is hitting .235/.297/.382 with a .680 OPS and seven steals on seven attempts. He has hit four long balls, driven in 18 runs and scored 22 times.
- St. Louis’ Jordan Walker is slashing .303/.380/.576 this season with 10 home runs (10th in MLB), 27 RBIs (14th in MLB) and an OPS of .956 (10th in MLB). He has a 28.7% strikeout rate and a 10.7% walk rate in 150 plate appearances, and he has scored 28 total runs. Walker has recorded seven steals on eight attempts.
- In 156 plate appearances, Alec Burleson has hit five long balls, tallied 29 RBIs (6th in MLB) and scored 18 runs. He is batting .268/.346/.442 and has posted a 15.4% strikeout rate and a 10.9% walk rate.
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