Game 81: 07/02 Padres @ Cardinals

A maddening series sweep at the hands of the Mariners have the Padres staring at 37-43 on the season, eight games back in the NL West.  Tonight they kick off an 11-day, 10-game road trip that begins in St. Louis and will take them straight to the All Star Break.

Last year's Padres All-Star, Tyson Ross, will open things up at Busch Stadium. The right-hander was solid his last time out, allowing only two runs on two hits in six innings of work to help lead the Padres to a 4-2 win last Friday against the Diamondbacks. That was one start after throwing a complete game against those same Diamondbacks.  Ross has made five career appearances (two starts) against St. Louis.  Both starts were made in 2014. He went 1-1, allowing a combined four runs on nine hits through 12 innings.

On the mound for the Cardinals will be Tim Cooney, making the spot start for the injured Jaime Garcia.  Cooney made his Major League debut back in April, going only 2 1/3 innings on the mound and allowing three earned runs on seven hits and a walk. That was his only taste of the big leagues, after which he was sent back down to Triple-A Memphis. In 14 starts for the Memphis Redbirds this year, Cooney is 6-4 with a 2.74 ERA.

Game time: 4:15 pm PT
TV: FSSD, MLBN, Fox Deportes San Diego (Sp.)
Radio: The Mighty 1090, La Ponderos 860 (Sp.)