Padres Vs. Cardinals

Schedule:

Game 1, Tuesday at Busch Stadium (1:07 p.m. PDT, ESPN); Game 2, Thursday at Busch Stadium (1:07 p.m., ESPN); Game 3, Saturday at Jack Murphy Stadium (:37 p.m., NBC); Game 4 (if necessary) Sunday at Jack Murphy Stadium (8:07 p.m., ESPN); Game 5 (if necessary) Monday at Jack Murphy Stadium (1:07 p.m., ESPN).

Season Series: St. Louis won, 8-4.

Matchups

Padres: Strong season makes former Spokane Indians manager Bruce Bochy a contender for manager of year. … Making first postseason appearance since 1984, when they were wiped out by Detroit in the World Series. That year was Tony Gwynn’s first as a full-time major leaguer - he won his first NL batting title that season, and hit .353 to win it this year. … Ken Caminiti (.326, team-record 40 HR, 130 RBIs) is leading candidate for MVP award. … Greg Vaughn hit .206 with 10 homers after being acquired July 31 from Milwaukee, where he hit 31 home runs. Platooned in left field with Rickey Henderson. … Steve Finley (.298, career-high 30 HR, 95 RBIs, 126 runs) played well in center field. … Padres set team records for runs and hits. … Deep pitching staff, though no superstars on staff. Fernando Valenzuela (13-8, 3.62 ERA) put together nice season. Hard-throwing Trevor Hoffman is solid closer.

Cardinals: Gary Gaetti wrecked Padres with five homers and 12 RBIs. His home run in bottom of ninth gave St. Louis a 1-0 win on Aug. 7. … Brian Jordan batted .391 with five doubles and two home runs. … Bounced back from second-worst record in league last year to win NL Central title in manager Tony La Russa’s first year. … Big changes paid off well in St. Louis. Newcomers Gary Gaetti (23 homers), Dennis Eckersley (30 saves) and Andy Benes (18-10) helped Cards succeed in first season since going from turf to grass at Busch Stadium.

Prediction: Cardinals in 5.