The Padres take on the Cardinals, with Nick Pivetta & Miles Mikolas getting the starts. Analysis centers on their recent performances.

ST. LOUIS — The Padres started and finished strong on their longest road trip of the season. They concluded the 10-game, three-city trip Sunday with a 9-2 victory over the Cardinals built mostly in the first four innings.

The Cardinals will face Colin Rea (1-1, 5.51 ERA) as they try to close out their stay in San Diego with another victory. The right-hander has a 3.00 ERA in his past two starts and earned his first ...

Jay, a member of two World Series teams and five consecutive playoff clubs for the Cardinals, was 16 for his first 60 (.267) before Thursday night with the Padres, where he has been their leadoff man.

They are separated by a half-game in the wild-card standings, with the 76-69 Cardinals holding a slight edge over the 76-70 Padres. But of course, that can change very quickly over three games.

The Mets look to extend their seven-game winning streak against a Padres team that is starting to pick up some steam on Monday night at Petco Park.

PITCHING FOR THE CARDINALS: Jaime Garcia (4-6, 4.16 ERA). He is 1-0 with a 1.67 ERA in four career starts against the Padres. Although he tends to struggle on the road, he threw six scoreless ...