Skid continues; San Diego offense can’t solve Cards pitching

For the second game in a row, the San Diego Padres couldn’t solve the St. Louis Cardinals’ pitching staff. After an almost historic outing from Dustin May in Monday night’s matchup, starter Andre Pallante pitched seven innings of two-run ball.

The only two rallies the Friars had were stopped short by the Cards. It was very much the same story as Game 1, meaning San Diego will be playing to avoid a sweep this afternoon. If they do so, it’ll need to be on the backs of a resurgent offense.

The Cardinals’ righty has been solid for St. Louis this season. He’s pitched to a 4.64 ERA through 64 innings. It’s a modest mark, but one that has proved his ability as a good back-end option in the rotation.

Leahy started against the Padres the last time the two clubs faced. He pitched five scoreless innings against the Friars and gave up just two hits. San Diego managed to win the game in extras with some late-inning heroics, but the lineup couldn’t solve Leahy. They’ll need to today to stave off the sweep.

stuff about Padres pitcher

The Friars’ lineup has been incredibly quiet against St. Louis. Cards starters have combined to cover 16 of 18 innings through the first two games of the series. San Diego will need to get more going to win the series finale against St. Louis.

1. Fernando Tatis Jr., 2B
2. Jackson Merrill, CF
3. Manny Machado, 3B
4. Xander Bogaerts, SS
5. Gavin Sheets, 1B
6. Samad Taylor, LF
7. Jase Bowen, RF
8. Will Wagner, DH
9. Rodolfo Durán, C

Until the last two games, San Diego’s offense looked fantastic. The club surged for 17 runs against the Baltimore Orioles and 14 against the Cincinnati Reds. They’ve only scored two against St. Louis. The lineup needs to turn things around and produce some offense.

Michael King had an okay-ish outing against the Cardinals. He struggled through 4 and 1.3 innings, surrendering three runs. The bullpen locked it down from there. Yuki Matsui, Ron Marinaccio and Wandy Peralta covered the final 3 2/3 innings, giving up a hit apiece.

That leaves Jason Adam, Kyle Hart, Adrian Morejon, David Morgan and Bradgley Rodriguez available for the series finale. All but Hart represent high-leverage options for San Diego to turn to. Closer Mason Miller is still on the bereavement and family medical leave list.