Cardinals hope to extend power surge against Padres

The St. Louis Cardinals are trying to regain traction in the National League wild-card race after enduring a lengthy slide.

That effort continues Friday night when they host the San Diego Padres in the second game of a four-game series.

After losing five of their first six games after the All-Star break -- and 13 of 18 overall -- the Cardinals outslugged the Padres 9-7 on Thursday to move within 2 1/2 games of San Diego for the last National League wild-card slot.

St. Louis rebounded from a dispiriting 6-0 loss to the Colorado Rockies on Wednesday in Denver with a sudden power surge.

"Especially after that road trip, you wanted to come out a little stronger," Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said following the Thursday victory. "We needed the offense to get going.

"I liked our approach today. Our focus was there, our attention to detail was there, our overall execution was pretty darn high."

Willson Contreras (2-for-3, homer, four RBIs), Brendan Donovan (3-for-5, homer, two runs, three RBIs) Ivan Herrera (3-for-4, homer, two runs, two RBIs) and Victor Scott II (1-for-2, two walks, stolen base, two runs) led the turnaround.

"Contreras continues to swing a really good bat, and (Donovan), Herrera did a nice job," Marmol said. "I love what we're seeing out of (Scott), being a little more patient, (he) drew a couple of walks today, that was important as well."

The Cardinals will seek a bounce-back pitching performance from Miles Mikolas (5-8, 5.20 ERA), who has allowed five or more runs in three of his past four starts. He is 3-2 with a 3.00 ERA in eight career starts against the Padres, his original big league team.

This is an important series for the Padres, who will face the Cardinals seven times in a span of 11 days while trying to overcome pitching injuries and heat up on offense. San Diego is 3-4 since the All-Star break, having lost the past three in a row.

"Winners find solutions," Padres manager Mike Shildt told KMOX radio. "You've got to figure it out. This is a group that has been able to do that for the most part, put ourselves in position to be in a playoff race and expect to be in the playoffs."

San Diego will counter Mikolas with Nick Pivetta (10-2, 2.81 ERA), who has allowed just two earned runs in 31 1/3 innings over his past five starts.

"Nick Pivetta has been outstanding," Shildt said.

Pivetta is pleased to have a double-digit victory total in July, but he has been happier about his ability to hold down the opposition.

"I think a lot of pitchers can have great games and not get a win," he said. "So I think it's just more about how many zeros and how quick I can get in, how (few) walks I can give up, just how much I can pound the strike zone. And if a win comes, a win comes, but for me, it's just continuing to pitch, throw up zeros and do my thing."

Pivetta is 3-1 with a 3.47 ERA in six career starts against the Cardinals.

--Field Level Media