Padres take on the Cardinals in first of 4-game series

St. Louis Cardinals (21-15, second in the NL Central) vs. San Diego Padres (22-14, second in the NL West)

San Diego; Thursday, 10:10 p.m. EDT

PITCHING PROBABLES: Cardinals: Matthew Liberatore (1-1, 4.50 ERA, 1.50 WHIP, 23 strikeouts); Padres: Michael King (3-2, 2.95 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, 39 strikeouts)

LINE: Padres -177, Cardinals +148; over/under is 8 runs

BOTTOM LINE: The San Diego Padres host the St. Louis Cardinals on Thursday to begin a four-game series.

San Diego has a 22-14 record overall and an 11-8 record at home. The Padres have gone 15-1 in games when they scored at least five runs.

St. Louis has a 21-15 record overall and an 11-5 record in road games. The Cardinals rank ninth in MLB play with 44 total home runs, averaging 1.2 per game.

The matchup Thursday is the first meeting of the season between the two clubs.

TOP PERFORMERS: Xander Bogaerts has a .276 batting average to lead the Padres, and has two doubles and seven home runs. Miguel Andujar is 12 for 39 with two home runs and eight RBIs over the past 10 games.

Jordan Walker leads the Cardinals with a .303 batting average, and has six doubles, 10 home runs, 16 walks and 27 RBIs. is 12 for 40 with two home runs and 12 RBIs over the past 10 games.