SAN DIEGO (AP) — The San Diego Padres are bringing some serious swagger and talent to their first postseason appearance in 14 years, against their old nemesis, the St. Louis Cardinals.
Led by 21-year-old Fernando Tatis Jr., Manny Machado and Wil Myers, the Padres will host the St. Louis Cardinals in Game 1 of a best of three wild-card series on Wednesday.
First pitch is set for 2:08 p.m., and the game will air on ESPN2.
Says Tatis: "Man, we're good."
The star shortstop was only 8 years old when the Friars last made the postseason in 2006. That season, San Diego won the National League West Division and faced the Cardinals in the Division Series.
The Cards beat the Padres 3-1, and they eventually took home the World Series championship by defeating the Detroit Tigers.
St. Louis will start left-hander Kwang Hyun Kim (3-0, 1.62 ERA), who pitched at Petco Park for Korea in the 2009 World Baseball Classic.
San Diego will counter with right-hander Chris Paddack (4-5, 4.73), who has had a seesaw season.
Numbers to know heading into the series:
St. Louis Cardinals (30-28, second in the NL Central) vs. San Diego Padres (37-23, second in the NL West)
The Padres are 21-11 on their home turf; the Cardinals have gone 16-15 away from home.
REGULAR SEASON TOP PERFORMERS: Wil Myers leads the Padres with 31 extra base hits and is batting .288; Tyler O'Neill leads the Cardinals with seven home runs and has 19 RBIs.
LAST 10 GAMES: Padres: 5-5, .215 batting average, 3.87 ERA, outscored opponents by three runs; Cardinals: 6-4, .209 batting average, 3.43 ERA, outscored opponents by two runs.
