Southside Showdown Wild Card Series Predictions

San Diego Padres (4) vs St. Louis Cardinals (5)

Vinnie Parise – Site Expert:

The St. Louis Cardinals really turned things around after making it look like they were going to ruin the entire MLB season for us all. Well, they ended up making the playoffs anyway but that will be it for them. The San Diego Padres have too much this year and should be able to take care of the Cardinals in three games.

Samiya Green:

The St. Louis Cardinals are going up against a very starry-eyed and offense heavy team which I think will be too much for the Cardinals rotation to handle. It is very hard to consider Jack Flaherty as a lock to control the Padres batting order because he has been disappointing in his starts on the mound this season. His inconsistency does not mirror his capabilities at all and he’s facing the wrong team to slip up against. I think all the Padres need is for Manny Machado, Jake Cronenworth, and Fernando Tatis Jr. to do what they do best and take the series.

Mitchell Kaminski:

The Padres are back in the postseason for the first time since 2006. It was worth the wait as they have a very exciting team headlined by Fernado Tatis Jr and Manny Machado. But their pitching is also excellent. Their rotation features Dinelson Lamet, Chris Paddack, Zach Davies. In the bullpen, they added Trevor Rosenthal from the Royals. This team might still be a year away but it loaded up to make a deep run and the Cardinals should be light work along the way.  Prediction: Padres in 2

Cody Young:

SD in 3. I think this will be a hard-fought series but I think SD just has a little too much firepower for STL.

Jon Michael Walters:

Padres defeat the Cardinals – this one could be close but the Padres have youth on their side.