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Padres Announce Sudden Change to Starting Pitcher vs Cardinals

The Padres are using a different strategy.
Noah Camras|
May 23, 2026; San Diego, California, USA; San Diego Padres pitcher Lucas Giolito (55) delivers during the first inning against the Athletics at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Denis Poroy-Imagn Images
May 23, 2026; San Diego, California, USA; San Diego Padres pitcher Lucas Giolito (55) delivers during the first inning against the Athletics at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Denis Poroy-Imagn Images | Denis Poroy-Imagn Images

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San Diego PadresSt. Louis Cardinals

The San Diego Padres have announced a different starting pitcher for Monday's series opener against the St. Louis Cardinals.

Right-handed pitcher Lucas Giolito was initially expected to start Monday's game.

Instead, it will be left-handed pitcher Wandy Peralta on the mound to open the game.

According to Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune, Peralta will merely be an opener for Giolito, who's struggled mightily over his last three starts.

The Padres are hoping this different strategy will allow Giolito to get deeper into the game.

"The plan is for Lucas Giolito, who has worked four innings in each of his past two starts, to follow a reliever tonight with the idea being he starts the second inning and can get the Padres to at least some point in the sixth without having had to face the top of the order a third time," Acee wrote.

Padres vs Cardinals Pitching Matchup on Monday

Peralta will start the game for the Padres, looking to get a shutdown first inning before handing it off to Giolito.

Peralta has made 28 appearances for the Padres this year, sporting a 2.18 ERA across 33 innings.

As for Giolito, he's struggled across his five starts, sporting a 4.35 ERA over 20.2 innings. He completed five innings in each of his first two starts, and hasn't gone more than four innings since.

Opposite Peralta (and then Giolito) will be right-hander Dustin May, who's 4-6 with a 4.21 ERA across 72.2 innings this season.

May is coming off his best start of the year against the New York Mets, pitching six shutout innings.

Padres Lineup vs Cardinals

  1. Fernando Tatis Jr., RF
  2. Jackson Merrill, CF
  3. Manny Machado, DH
  4. Gavin Sheets, LF
  5. Xander Bogaerts, SS
  6. Will Wagner, 3B
  7. Ty France, 1B
  8. Sung-Mun Song, 2B
  9. Rodolfo Durán, C

How to Watch Padres vs Cardinals on Monday

First pitch for San Diego Padres vs. St. Louis Cardinals on Monday, June 15 is 4:45 p.m. PT/7:45 p.m. ET. The game will be broadcast on Padres.TV and in the MLB app.

The Padres announced that games will also be available via cable on the following channels:

  • Cox (Channel 83)
  • DirecTV (Channel 694-3)
  • AT&T Uverse (Channel 781 or 1781)
  • Spectrum (Channel 305 or 443)

Games will be broadcast on the radio on 97.3 The Fan (in English) and XEMO 860 (in Spanish).

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Published | Modified
Noah Camras
NOAH CAMRAS

Noah Camras graduated from the University of Southern California in 2022 with a B.A. in Journalism and a minor in sports media studies. He was born and raised in Los Angeles and has extensively covered Southern California sports in his career. Noah is the publisher of Padres on SI after contributing as a writer and editor over the last three years.

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