Cardinals at Padres
The San Diego Padres haven't been at or above the .500 mark at the All-Star break since 2010 but are heading in that direction as they try for a three-game sweep of the visiting St. Louis Cardinals on Sunday. San Diego (42-40) routed St. Louis 12-2 on Saturday for its fourth straight victory and eighth in 11 contests behind Manny Machado and Franmil Reyes, who became the first Padres to hit two home runs apiece in the same game at Petco Park.
The Padres are only 12-13 in June but have scored an insurmountable six times per game to set a club record for average runs in a month, breaking the old standard of 5.72 set in June 1997. St. Louis (40-41) has lost a season-high five straight games and is without outfielder Marcell Ozuna (20 home runs, 62 RBIs), who was placed on the 10-day injured list Saturday with a finger injury sustained while getting picked off first base during Friday's 3-1 loss. The Cardinals are averaging the second-fewest amount of runs in the National League this month at 3.48 and have scored three in their last 34 innings. San Diego's Joey Lucchesi - 6-2 with a 2.70 ERA in nine home starts this season - takes the mound Sunday as he opposes Miles Mikolas, who has lost six of his last seven decisions and is 1-4 with a 7.76 ERA in seven road outings in 2019.
TV: 4:10 p.m. ET, FS Midwest (St. Louis), FS San Diego
PITCHING MATCHUP: Cardinals RH Miles Mikolas (5-8, 4.33 ERA) vs. Padres LH Joey Lucchesi (6-4, 3.95)
Mikolas allowed one run, seven hits and two walks in five innings of a 6-4 loss to the Los Angeles Angels on June 23 after yielding six hits in six frames of a 5-0 victory over Miami six days earlier. The 30-year-old Floridian, who has limited opponents to a .221 batting average against his sinker this season, is 1-4 with a 3.44 ERA in his last six outings. Mikolas is 1-1 with a 2.84 ERA in two starts against San Diego.
Lucchesi did not factor in the decision after permitting four runs and six hits with four strikeouts in five innings of the Padres' 11-10 loss at Pittsburgh on June 23. The 26-year-old Californian went 3-1 with a 2.59 ERA over his previous four turns, including seven strong innings in a 2-0 victory over Milwaukee on June 17. Paul Goldschmidt is 7-for-13 with two home runs and four RBIs against Lucchesi, who never has faced the Cardinals.
WALK-OFFS
1. Machado has gone deep nine times in his last 14 games while Reyes - who turns 24 on Friday - has belted 40 home runs in his career, breaking Dave Winfield's club record for blasts prior to their 24th birthday.
2. St. Louis had its season-high errorless streak end at six games when RHP Dakota Hudson committed a throwing miscue on Saturday.
3. San Diego RHP Kirby Yates leads the major leagues with 27 saves, which also is the franchise record for most before the All-Star break - eclipsing the previous mark set in 2011 by Heath Bell.