Cardinals Vs. Padres Recap: San Diego Wins Again, 3-2

The St. Louis Cardinals (75-68) fell for the third straight time on Wednesday night, as the San Diego Padres closed out a three-game sweep on the Redbirds with a 3-2 win in San Diego.

Cardinals ace Kyle Lohse (14-3) was dealt his first loss in nearly three months despite giving up just two earned runs and five hits over six innings. The Padres (69-75) took the lead in the bottom of the sixth inning, with Lohse on his final out of his start, when Chase Headley hit a two-out double and was driven home by a Yasmani Grandal single.

Cardinals right-fielder Matt Carpenter had just tied the game with a two-run home run to right field in the top half of the inning. The homer was one of just four hits the Cards mustered on the night, with Padres starter Clayton Richard (13-12) giving up only three hits and one walk over seven innings.

St. Louis now moves up the coast for a four-game series with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Lance Lynn (14-7, 4.04 ERA) is expected to start for the Cardinals, going up against L.A.'s Josh Beckett, who is 6-13 with a 5.05 ERA on the season as a whole, but 1-2 with a 3.86 ERA for the Dodgers since coming over from the Boston Red Sox in last month's big trade.

For more on the Cardinals, head to Viva El Birdos, while Baseball Nation has all your MLB news in one place.

MLB Standings: Cardinals Still Hold Scant Lead In Wild Card

It's coming down to the wire for the St. Louis Cardinals in the Wild Card race. They probably won't be catching the 86-57 Cincinnati Reds in the NL Central barring a minor miracle, so the WC is their only chance to get into the post season. Unfortunately, their 10 losses in 15 games form isn't helping matters any.

With a handful of games to go in the season, the Cards (75-67) currently hold a single game lead over the LA Dodgers (74-68) in the race for the second Wild Card spot. Both teams are currently on two game losing streaks.

The closest team to catching either the Dodgers or Cardinals is the Pittsburgh Pirates (72-69), who are currently 2.5 games back of the Cardinals.

The full standings for Major League Baseball can be found at SI.com.

For more on the Cardinals, visit SB Nation blog Viva El Birdos and SB Nation St. Louis. Be sure to also check out Baseball Nation and subscribe to our YouTube channel.

Cardinals Vs. Padres: 4th Inning Costs St. Louis In 6-4 Loss

St. Louis dropped its second game in a row to the San Diego Padres 6-4 on Tuesday night, thanks to a disastrous fourth inning.

Adam Wainwright had a no-hitter on his hands up until the fourth inning, and the Cardinals were looking good for the 2-0 lead they had at the time, but Peter Kozma -- who had been the best player on the Cards the night before -- committed an error at shortstop, which started a chain of hits for the Padres. By the end of the inning, San Diego was up, 5-2, and it never looked back.

The Cards did chip back a couple of times, getting runs in the sixth and seventh innings, but the Padres closed it out with a final run of their own in the seventh, sealing the victory and the win in the series against St. Louis.

Losses like the now two straight against the Padres are very bad for the Wild Card health of the Cardinals -- they have now lost 10 of their last 15 games and are only a single game ahead of the Los Angeles Dodgers for the final spot in the Wild Card standings. It's looking like the race will come down to those two, as slumping Pittsburgh is currently 2.5 games behind.

For more on the Cardinals, visit SB Nation blog Viva El Birdos and SB Nation St. Louis. Be sure to also check out Baseball Nation and subscribe to our YouTube channel.

Cardinals Vs. Padres: Lineups For Tuesday Evening

St. Louis will try to bounce back from an awful 11-3 loss on Tuesday as they face the San Diego Padres for game two of their series. Adam Wainwright will face off against Edinson Volquez at 9:05 p.m. CT in the big matchup as the Cards try to keep their Wild Card hopes alive and kicking.

Here are the lineups for Tuesday night's game between the Cards and Padres at Petco Park:

St. Louis Cardinals:

1. Jon Jay CF
2. Carlos Beltran RF
3. Matt Holliday LF
4. Allen Craig 1B
5. Yadier Molina C
6. David Freese 3B
7. Skip Schumaker 2B
8. Pete Kozma SS
9. Adam Wainwright P

San Diego Padres:

1. Everth Cabrera SS
2. Will Venable RF
3. Chase Headley 3B
4. Yasmani Grandal C
5. Yonder Alonso 1B
6. Logan Forsythe 2B
7. Cameron Maybin CF
8. Alexi Amarista LF
9. Edinson Volquez P

For more on the Cardinals, visit SB Nation blog Viva El Birdos and SB Nation St. Louis. Be sure to also check out Baseball Nation and subscribe to our YouTube channel.

Cardinals Pitcher Jaime Garcia Puzzled By Road Woes

St. Louis dropped a vital road game on Monday against the San Diego Padres, getting beat down, 11-3, after a mediocre pitching performance. Jaime Garcia was smacked around early on in that game, giving up four runs in three innings before eventually being pulled.

It's been a usual thing for the 26-year old Cardinals pitcher to have mediocre performances on the road. In his career he has an 18-11 with a 2.42 ERA record at home, and a 13-12 record with a 4.69 ERA away from St. Louis. Garcia has said that it was just one bad performance and not anything to be concerned about, but the sample size continues to grow for the home/road split he has shown since joining the team..

His manager, Mike Matheny, is as puzzled as everyone else when it comes to his odd home/road splits:

"I have no idea why. If I did, then we'd do something to fix it," said Matheny. "There's not a good explanation: It's 60 feet, six inches. You can't deny that it's something he's struggling with."

For more on the Cardinals, visit SB Nation blog Viva El Birdos and SB Nation St. Louis. Be sure to also check out Baseball Nation and subscribe to our YouTube channel:

Fake Matt Holliday Injury Terrifies St. Louis Cardinals Twittersphere

Pete Kozma Was A Very Unlikely St. Louis Cardinals Hero Monday Night

Cardinals Vs. Padres: Game Time, TV Schedule And More

The St. Louis Cardinals are fighting for their playoff lives, and games like Tuesday night's against the San Diego Padres are ones the Red Birds will probably need to win if they hope to hold off the Los Angeles Dodgers and Pittsburgh PIrates in the NL Wild Card chase.

The Cardinals (75-66) will send Adam Wainwright (13-12, 4.04 ERA) to the mound to take on the Padres (67-75) and Edinson Volquez (9-10, 4.27) Tuesday at 9:05 p.m. CT in San Diego. The Padres won the first game of the series Monday night 11-3 as the Cardinals saw their Wild Card lead over the Los Angeles Dodgers dwindle to a single game.

Wainwright has dominated the Padres in his career, pitching to a 1.07 ERA in 33.2 innings pitched.

Cardinals fans can see the game locally on Fox Sports Midwest, while Padres fans can see the game on Fox Sports San Diego.

For more on the Cardinals, visit SB Nation blog Viva El Birdos and SB Nation St. Louis. Be sure to also check out Baseball Nation and subscribe to our YouTube channel:

Lance Lynn Returns To St. Louis Cardinals Rotation Down The Stretch

Starting pitcher Lance Lynn will get another shot to prove he deserves to stick in the St. Louis Cardinals rotation for the playoff run.

Lynn will replace the injured Jake Westbrook and pitch Thursday's game against Josh Beckett and the Los Angeles Dodgers as the Cardinals try to hold off the Dodgers for the second and final Wild Card spot.

Lynn (14-7, 4.04 ERA) was removed from the rotation in late August after struggling, but Westbrook's oblique injury opens the door for Lynn to show he's regained the form that led him to an 8-1 start to the 2012 season. Thursday's start will be the first for Lynn since Aug. 24, when he gave up four runs in two innings against the first-place Cincinnati Reds.

Thursday's game is the first of a pivotal four-game road series in Los Angeles that could go a long way in determining who makes the playoffs.

For more on the Cardinals, visit SB Nation blog Viva El Birdos and SB Nation St. Louis. Be sure to also check out Baseball Nation and subscribe to our YouTube channel:

Cardinals Vs. Padres: St. Louis Pitching Falters In 11-3 Loss

There wasn't much that the St. Louis Cardinals pitching staff could do on Monday night as the San Diego Padres slugged their way to an 11-3 win.

San Diego started off quickly, pounding starter Jaime Garcia for four runs on seven hits in only three innings. Shelby Miller came in to relieve him and didn't fare much better, giving up two runs of his own on four hits in three more innings of play. The Cardinals got two runs in the second inning thanks to a Peter Kozma triple, but couldn't keep up with the two-runs-an-inning pace that the Padres were putting up.

Kozma ended up providing the only real entertainment of the evening from a Cardinals perspective, going 4-5 with a very good chance at hitting for the cycle. He needed a home run in the ninth inning to get it, but instead could only manage his second double of the game.

St. Louis got a great opportunity to get back in the game when they loaded the bases in the seventh inning, but couldn't drive anyone home. The Padres tacked on two more runs in the bottom of the inning, added three more in the eighth inning, and held on for the win.

With a close race in the NL, the Cards can't afford to drop many more games to teams like the Padres if their Wild Card hopes are to come true. They'll get their chance for revenge on Tuesday at 9:05 p.m. CT.

For more on the Cardinals, check out Viva el Birdos and join the discussion.

Cardinals Vs. Padres Score Update: St. Louis Down 4 After 5

The St. Louis Cardinals (75-65) headed into their series against the San Diego Padres (66-75) looking to hold onto their Wild Card position, but they trail by a score of 6-2 after five innings.

St. Louis starter Jaime Garcia was pulled after three innings, replaced by Shelby Miller. Garcia allowed four runs and seven hits on the evening.

Pete Kozma put the Cardinals on top 2-0 in the second inning with a two-run triple, but it's been all Padres since.

San Diego tied it in the bottom of the second after an RBI single from Chris Denorfia and an RB -double from Logan Forsythe.

Cameron Maybin hit a two-run home run in the third and RBI singles from Jesus Guzman and Yonder Alonso put San Diego up 6-2 in the fourth.

Padres starter Eric Stults has given up two runs and three hits through five innings, striking out four.

For more on the Cardinals, check out Viva el Birdos and join the discussion.

Cardinals Vs. Padres Starting Lineups: Jon Jay Leads The Way

The St. Louis Cardinals begin a crucial series against the San Diego Padres on Monday, as they strive to hold on to their position in the National League Wild Card race. The Cardinals currently have just a 1.5-game lead on the L.A. Dodgers.

The Cardinals now know they will be without Lance Berkman for the rest of the season after the slugger received news he needs yet another surgery on his right knee.

Padres:

1. Chris Denorfia (R) RF
2. Logan Forsythe (R) 2B
3. Chase Headley (S) 3B
4. Carlos Quentin (R) LF
5. Yasmani Grandal (S) C
6. Yonder Alonso (L) 1B
7. Cameron Maybin (R) CF
8. Everth Cabrera (S) SS
9. Eric Stults (L) P

Cardinals:

1. Jon Jay (L) CF
2. Carlos Beltran (S) RF
3. Matt Holliday (R) LF
4. Allen Craig (R) 1B
5. Yadier Molina (R) C
6. David Freese (R) 3B
7. Daniel Descalso (L) 2B
8. Pete Kozma (R) SS
9. Jaime Garcia (L) P

For more on the Cardinals, check out Viva el Birdos and join the discussion.

St. Louis Cardinals Vs. San Diego Padres: Cards Open Pivotal West Coast Trip

Jaime Garcia starts for the Cardinals on Monday, as St. Louis begins a pivotal stretch through southern California.