Jackson Merrill, Padres look to choose up steam vs. Cards

Mike Shildt will make his managerial return to St. Louis at a crucial time for his current team and his former franchise.

Shildt has his San Diego Padres in the thick of the National League playoff chase in his first year the helm after four seasons with the Cardinals.

The Padres hold the NL’s second wild-card slot entering this four-game series, which will begin Monday night.

Since reaching 16 games over .500 on Aug. 14, the Padres have gone 5-5 and are coming off a four-game series split at home with the New York Mets.

The Cardinals have won consecutive series for the first time since early July. They won two of three games from the Milwaukee Brewers at home last week, then took two of three from the Minnesota Twins on the road.

St. Louis climbed back to .500 and moved within five games of the Atlanta Braves for the final wild card in the NL.

Both the Padres and Cardinals came back to win their respective games by a 3-2 score on Sunday.

San Diego won on Jackson Merrill’s walk-off homer. MLB.com noted that in 14 plate appearances with the Padres tied or trailing by a run in the ninth inning, Merrill is hitting .583 with a walk and five homers.

“He’s got this wonderful ability to slow the game down in bigger moments, allow his unbelievable ability to play,” Shildt said. “I think Jackson makes it about what he’s going to do. He’s respectful about what he’s going to see and is looking to compete and figure out how he’s going to get the upper hand of it.”

Randy Vasquez (3-6, 4.63 ERA) will start in place of fellow right-hander Matt Waldron, who was sent to Triple-A El Paso after he allowed 10 runs on 12 hits in 4 1/3 innings in his last outing.

Vasquez, 25, has yet to face the Cardinals in his young career.

The Cardinals rallied past the Twins on Sunday for their fourth win in the past five games, with Lars Nootbaar hitting the decisive two-run single in the ninth inning.

“We’re playing pretty good ball right now,” Nootbaar told Bally Sports Midwest. “We have a tough stretch ahead of us. It’s in our hands because we are playing so many good teams that are ahead of us. So, if we can come out and win ballgames and win series like this on the road, it’s going to be huge for us.”

With catcher Willson Contreras sidelined by a broken finger, the Cardinals will need other hitters to step up. Catcher Pedro Pages has batted .320 since the All-Star break.

Nolan Arenado is hitting .318 with an .845 OPS in August. Nootbaar has reached base in his last eight games while going for 8-for-26 with five walks, two doubles, a homer and five RBIs.

“(Nootbaar is) playing with more confidence, and that comes with a little bit of success,” Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said. “His swing and what he’s trying to do with it, he’s getting closer and closer.”

St. Louis on Monday will start right-hander Kyle Gibson (7-5, 4.22 ERA), who allowed two runs on seven hits and two walks in 5 1/3 innings Wednesday against the Brewers in his last start. He struck out five in the no-decision.

Gibson earned a 6-2 victory over the Padres in San Diego on April 1 while allowing two runs on four hits and two walks in seven innings. He struck out four.

He is 3-1 with a 3.93 ERA in six career starts against San Diego.

–Field Level Media