Game Preview: Game 143 vs. St. Louis Cardinals

It was a great night for San Diego fans last night as our offense exploded for 11 runs on 17 hits. The victory pull our Padres within 2 1/2 games of third place and decreased the Cardinals' lead in the wild card race. Tonight our boys will get a chance to clinch the series with Edinson Volquez on the mound.

Volquez missed his last start due to a blister on his throwing hand. In his last start, he was tagged for five runs in 4 2/3 innings in a loss to the Rockies at Coors Field. Tonight he will try to get back on track and help our Padres keep the win streak going. Volquez hasn't had much success over the Cardinals in the past. He is 0-4 in his last six starts and 1-4 all-time against St. Louis. His most recent lost against them was earlier this year when he gave up three runs in six innings of work.

Volquez pitched opposite tonight's Cardinals starter, Adam Wainwright, in that same game. Wainwright dominated, scattering just four hits in a complete game shutout. He has a career 3-1 record and 1.07 ERA against San Diego. His sole defeat occured at Petco Park in May of 2010, but it wasn't a result of bad pitching. He tied a career-high by striking out eight batters but our Padres won 1-0. In his last start, Wainwright was tagged for five runs on eight hits in a loss to the Mets.

Wainwright will try to keep up his success against San Diego, but will have a much tougher opponent tonight with a Padres offense that has been on fire in the second half of the season. We've won nine of our last 11 games at home and five of our last six games overall. Carlos Quentin may sit out tonight's game after exiting in the 4th last night with a sore knee, the same problem that made him miss five games in a row prior to Sunday. Thankfully it wouldn't be a huge loss on the offensive side because the rest of the lineup has been producing solidly at the plate.