Cardinals vs. Padres Lineup: Nathan Church Returns After Scare

The St. Louis Cardinals are going to begin an intriguing four-game series against the San Diego Padres on Thursday night on the road.

St. Louis is 21-15 on the season and the Padres are 22-14 so far through 36 games. Entering Thursday night's contest, the Padres had the fourth-best record in the National League and the Cardinals had the fifth-best record in the National League. The Padres entered the season expected to be a contender in the National League. That certainly wasn't the case with the Cardinals. But, here were on May 7 with these two teams separated by just one game.

The Cardinals will look to bounce back on Thursday after dropping a contest against the Milwaukee Brewers on Wednesday. When the Cardinals take the field against the Padres, they will roll out the same lineup they had on Wednesday against Milwaukee.

St. Louis Cardinals Lineup vs. San Diego Padres (May 7, 2026)

May 4, 2026; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Cardinals second baseman JJ Wetherholt (26) hits a one run single against the Milwaukee Brewers during the second inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images | Jeff Curry-Imagn Images

Starters in San Diego pic.twitter.com/uwogZk1ii7
— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) May 7, 2026

1. JJ Wetherholt, SS
2. Iván Herrera, DH
3. Alec Burleson, 1B
4. Jordan Walker, RF
5. Nolan Gorman, 3B
6. Masyn Winn, SS
7. Nathan Church, LF
8. Pedro Pagés, C
9. Victor Scott, CF

San Diego Padres Lineup

May 5, 2026; San Francisco, California, USA; San Diego Padres shortstop Xander Bogaerts (2) reacts to a strike call during the fifth inning against the San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park. Mandatory Credit: Stan Szeto-Imagn Images | Stan Szeto-Imagn Images

1. Jackson Merrill, CF
2. Miguel Andújar, DH
3. Manny Machado, 3B
4. Fernando Tatis Jr., 2B
5. Xander Bogaerts, SS
6. Ramón Laureano, LF
7. Ty France, 1B
8. Nick Castellanos, RF
9. Rodolfo Durán, C

The Cardinals and Padres have been two of the very best teams in the National League so far this season. St. Louis is loaded with young guys and has been fairly consistent with its lineup lately. The biggest thing to see with the Cardinals' lineup on Thursday is Nathan Church being in it. He was forced to leave the club's contest against the Brewers on Wednesday, but is clearly alright.

For the Cardinals, they will turn to Matthew Liberatore to try to get the club back into the win column against one of the toughest teams in the National League.

For the Padres, they sent Michael King to the hill. He entered the contest with a 2.95 ERA across seven starts so far this season for San Diego across 39 2/3 innings pitched. If the Cardinals can come away with a series win over the Padres, that would give the club series wins over the Los Angeles Dodgers and Padres in just over one week. That would be a statement to the National League that the Cardinals are here to stay after a hot start.

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