Padres Announce Starting Pitchers for Crucial Series vs Cardinals

The San Diego Padres are traveling to St. Louis to take on the Cardinals in a three-game series that could have major playoff implications later in the year.

The Padres (37-33) are currently 1.5 games back of the Cardinals (38-31) for the No. 1 wild-card spot in the National League.

The teams already split a four-game series at Petco Park earlier this year, and these will be the final three games they play against each other in the regular season. Thus, the winner of this series will have the head-to-head tiebreaker this year.

The Padres are coming off back-to-back series wins against the Cincinnati Reds and Baltimore Orioles, while the Cardinals enter this series having lost three of their last four games after previously winning six in a row.

Padres vs Cardinals Pitching Probables

Monday, June 15: RHP Lucas Giolito vs. RHP Dustin May

Lucas Giolito has struggled since joining the Padres rotation in mid-May, sporting a 4.35 ERA with 14 strikeouts to 18 walks over 20.2 innings of work.

He's completed five innings just twice this season, and hasn't gone more than four innings in any of his last three starts.

After his most recent outing against the Reds, he put the onus on himself to turn things around.

“It’s got to be better,” Giolito said. “Got to be able to limit damage, eliminate the free passes and work deeper into these games to help our guys out. ... It’s time to perform and do well for this club. So that’s gonna be my goal — clean this mess up that I’ve been creating and do better.”

As for Dustin May, he's had an up-and-down first season with the Cardinals, sporting a 4.21 ERA across 72.2 innings with 66 strikeouts to 20 walks.

He's coming off his best start of the season against the New York Mets, though, in which he pitched six shutout innings.

May faced the Padres in the team's series earlier this season, allowing two runs across six innings with seven strikeouts.

Tuesday, June 16: RHP Michael King vs. RHP Andre Pallante

Michael King got off to a strong start this season but has struggled mightily over his last four outings and will look to get back on track against St. Louis.

He's allowed 16 runs over his last four starts (22.1 innings) after allowing 15 runs over his first 10 starts (58.1 innings). Overall, he has a 3.46 ERA this season.

King faced the Cardinals in early May, allowing one run over six innings with six strikeouts.

As for Andre Pallante, he's 7-4 with a 3.88 ERA across 69.2 innings this season. He's allowed three runs over his last two starts (11.2 innings) and will look to continue that success against San Diego.

Wednesday, June 17: RHP Griffin Canning vs. RHP Kyle Leahy

Griffin Canning has been a major disappointment for the Padres this season, and could be running out of time to turn things around and maintain his spot in the rotation.

Overall, he's 0-5 with a 7.17 ERA across eight starts (37.2 innings). He faced the Cardinals earlier this season, allowing six runs on seven hits over 4.1 innings of work.

As for Kyle Leahy, he carries a 4.64 ERA with 52 strikeouts to 25 walks over 64 innings this year.

He pitched five shutout innings against the Padres in their series last month.

How to Watch Padres vs Cardinals June 15-17

First pitch for Monday's series opener is 4:45 p.m. PT/7:45 p.m. ET. The game will be broadcast on Padres.TV and in the MLB app.

First pitch for Tuesday's game is 4:45 p.m. PT/7:45 p.m. ET. The game will be broadcast on Padres.TV and in the MLB app. It will also be broadcast on TBS for out-of-market viewers.

First pitch for Wednesday's series finale is 11:15 a.m. PT/2:15 p.m. ET. The game will be broadcast on Padres.TV and in the MLB app.

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