Padres pregame: Looking to salvage St. Louis series, road trip

The Padres can at least salvage both the series in St. Louis and the first road trip of the second half with a win on Sunday.

First pitch is at 11:15 a.m. on Padres.TV.

Saturday’s win snapped a four-game skid that included dropping the first two games in St. Louis.

The Padres (56-49) are 4-5 so far on the road trip and have a one-game lead on the Reds in the race for the NL’s last wild-card spot. A win on Sunday would split both this four-game series and the road trip right down the middle.

The Cardinals (54-52) are two games behind the Padres and one of six teams within five games of each other in the push for the NL’s final postseason spot.

Gavin Sheets is back in the lineup and in left field on Sunday after sitting Saturday against the left-hander.

Last one of the road trip. pic.twitter.com/uhb1gj8KnE

— San Diego Padres (@Padres) July 27, 2025

Sheets’ 14 home runs are one off a career high and a .250/.311/.420 batting line would set new watermarks across the board if the season ended today.

Sheets, however, is hitting .103/.167/.128 over his last 10 games.

Sheets will hit sixth, between Xander Bogaerts serving as the DH and second baseman Jake Cronenworth.

With Bogaerts getting a half-day off, Jose Iglesias will man shortstop

Center fielder Jackson Merrill is serving as the clean-up hitter for the fourth straight game after spending a stretch further down in the order.

Merrill is hitting .242/.265/.303 in eight games since the All-Star break and has a six-game hitting streak (.280/.280/.360).

He had been hitting .167/.282/.278 in 20 games since returning from his concussion.

Here is how the Cardinals will line up for the series finale:

McGreevy on the mound pic.twitter.com/frjouYTWG0

— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) July 27, 2025

Sunday’s pitching matchup

Padres RHP Stephen Kolek (3-5, 4.28 ERA)

He’s making his second start since rejoining the rotation after allowing three runs on eight hits and a walk in 5⅔ innings in a loss on Tuesday in Miami. The Padres have not won a Kolek start since June 2, a span of seven starts (5.06 ERA). Kolek threw two scoreless innings at the Cardinals as a reliever last year.

Here is how Kolek has fared against current Cardinals:

Cardinals RHP Michael McGreevy (2-1, 3.49 ERA)

The 25-year-old rookie has a 2.81 ERA in 51 ⅓ innings since making his debut last year. He has a 17-to-3 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 28⅓ innings this year and is coming off allowing two runs — one earned — in seven innings in a twin on Monday at Coors Field. This will be McGreevy’s first appearance against the Padres.