Cardinals @ Padres

Who will WIN this matchup?

St. Louis Cardinals (87-63)

@ San Diego Padres (83-66)

Starting Pitchers:

Flaherty (STL): 0-1; 5.09 ERA

Musgrove (SD) 10-7; 3.16 ERA

Current odds:

St. Louis Cardinals: (+131)

San Diego Padres: (-154)

• The starting line-up for the Cardinals is as follows:

• The starting line-up for the Padres is as follows:

• San Diego Padres manager Bob Melvin noted recently that teams in wild-card races have an edge going into the postseason because they are already playing postseason-style baseball. At the time, Melvin was hoping his struggling Padres would hit a hot streak that would carry them into the postseason. His wish might have been answered, as San Diego is on a roll. The Padres hope to complete a three-game sweep of the National League Central-leading St. Louis Cardinals on Thursday in San Diego.

• The Padres have outscored the opposition 26-4 in a five-game winning streak. Their starting pitchers have worked 27 straight scoreless innings — the longest such streak in the major leagues this season. Three of the five wins in the streak have come on shutouts, including two straight against the Cardinals.

• Five of San Diego’s six runs in the series have scored on two-out hits, perhaps the biggest gain for a team that has struggled with runners in scoring position throughout most of the season.

• The Cardinals (87-63) have been shut out in three straight losses — following a 1-0 win. One run in four games. The three-game scoreless string is St. Louis’ longest since the last three games of the 2015 regular season.

• Which raises an interesting question. Typically, Albert Pujols — who is stuck on 698 home runs — gets the day game after a night game off on the road. But Pujols has three of the Cardinals’ seven hits the past two nights and broke up Blake Snell’s no-hit bid with a two-out single in the seventh inning on Wednesday. In addition, Pujols is 3-for-9 with a home run in his career against Musgrove. The slugger is hitless in three career at-bats vs. Padres closer Josh Hader.

• Musgrove didn’t pitch when the Cardinals swept a three-game series in St. Louis from May 30-June 1. He is 2-7 lifetime against the Cardinals with a 5.53 ERA, a 1.416 WHIP and a .260 opponents’ batting average in 10 starts.

• Flaherty will make his fourth start since returning from the 60-day injured list after recovering from a shoulder ailment. He went 0-1 with a 4.80 ERA in prior three outings. He also will make his fourth career start against the Padres, although he hasn’t opposed them since 2019. Flaherty is 1-0 with a 1.10 ERA and 16 strikeouts in 16 1/3 career innings vs. San Diego.