(Photo credit: Scott Marshall-Imagn Images)

If the last two games of their series in San Francisco this week are any indication, the San Diego Padres might have found the offensive punch that was missing during a recent slump.

After scoring 15 total runs to record consecutive wins that led to a series victory over the Giants, San Diego will be back home on Thursday night to open a four-game series with the St. Louis Cardinals.

Padres manager Craig Stammen shook up the lineup before Tuesday night's game against the Giants. He elevated Jackson Merrill to the leadoff spot and Manny Machado to the No. 2 hole and dropped Fernando Tatis Jr. from 2 to 5. On Wednesday, Stammen moved Ramon Laureano from 1 to 6.

The results over a two-game stretch: 20 hits, four multiple-run innings, and an offense that looked more like the one the Padres envisioned in spring training instead of the one that's hit for low average during the first six weeks of the season.

'They're a determined group,' Stammen said of his team, which lost five of six games before its current two-game winning streak. 'They're not satisfied with just being OK. They want to be great. We predicted days like this for these types of hitters, and I think there will be more to come.'

Merrill showed real signs of life in San Francisco with six hits and three RBIs in the series, while Xander Bogaerts slugged his team-high seventh homer on Wednesday to put the game away, 5-1. There were contributions up and down the lineup, including Ty France's two-run triple Wednesday that snapped a 1-1 tie vs. the Giants.

San Diego right-hander Michael King (3-2, 2.95 ERA) hopes that momentum carries into the series opener against St. Louis.

King is coming off a 4-0 loss Saturday night to the Chicago White Sox that saw him yield four runs on seven hits in six-plus innings with three walks and five strikeouts. He is 1-1 with a 2.35 ERA in two career outings against St. Louis, one of them a start.

The Cardinals, who have won seven of their past nine games, will counter with left-hander Matthew Liberatore (1-1, 4.50 ERA).

He last worked on Friday, beating the Los Angeles Dodgers 7-2 with 5 2/3 solid innings, yielding two runs on five hits and two walks with four strikeouts. Liberatore is 0-3 with a 2.57 ERA in seven career outings (two starts) against San Diego.

Despite a 6-2 loss at home Wednesday to Milwaukee, St. Louis has been far better than some predicted it would be in 2026. The team's offense has displayed much more power than expected, ranking in the top 10 in slugging percentage (eighth), home runs (ninth) and runs (10th).

Jordan Walker has emerged from the cocoon of two bad seasons with a start that suggests he's finally ready to live up to high expectations, while rookie JJ Wetherholt has added power and on-base percentage to a lineup needing both attributes.

Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol has been impressed with his offense's ability to grind at-bats and maintain consistent pressure on pitchers. In a 6-3 win Monday night over Milwaukee, the Cardinals put a runner in scoring position in every inning except the sixth.

'That's a lot of pressure,' Marmol said. 'You do that to any pitching staff and at some point, they'll all break.'

--Field Level Media