The trip to Coors Field and Mexico City was supposed to be a shot in the arm for the Padres’ offense.

It has been anything but.

The Padres are hitting .205/.268/350 for a .619 OPS in 11 games since their jaunt that elevation. They were shut out for a second time in that stretch in a one-hit loss on Friday and have several regulars slumping heading into Saturday’s 4:15 p.m. first pitch on FOX.

The headline that’s been stated over and over and over: Fernando Tatis Jr. has not homered yet this season.

He ranks in the 98th percentile in hard-hit rate (58.7%) and in the 91st percentile in average exit velocity (92.8 mph), but his groundball rate to date (52.9%) is the worst of his career, as is his average launch angle (2.8 degrees).

Tatis was 0-for-2 with a walk on Friday and is hitting .243/.275/.324 for a .599 OPS in 10 games played since the trip through elevation.

He’s not alone in his struggles even as he returns to the two-hole for the first time since Monday.

Manny Machado is 0-for-19 over his last five games and has a .541 OPS in since the return from Mexico City. Outfielder Ramón Laureano has been even more off his game with a .476 OPS since the return from elevation, as has catcher Freddy Fermin (.195).

The Padres had a .679 OPS through 22 games (15-7) before the trip through Denver and Mexico City and they  managed a so-so .751 OPS while going 3-2 on that trip.

Jackson Merrill is leading off for the fifth straight game and Tatis will bat second, followed by Machado and Gavin Sheets as the DH over Miguel Andujar, who is out of the lineup for the first time since April 28.

Shortstop Xander Bogaerts will bat fifth, followed by Laureano, first baseman Ty France, second baseman Sung-Mun Song and Fermin behind the plate.

Here is how the Cardinals (23-15) will line up as they look to clinch the series:

 

 

Saturday’s pitching matchup

Cardinals RHP Dustin May (3-3, 5.15 ERA)

The former Dodgers third-rounder has a 5.01 ERA in 169 innings since losing all of 2024 to injuries. That includes a 5.40 ERA in 28⅓ innings last year after the trade to Boston. May has a 2.45 ERA over his last five starts. He has a 3.80 ERA in 64 innings against the Padres in the regular season, but he allowed six runs — five earned — in five innings in a no-decision last year.

Here is how May has fared against current Padres in the regular season:

Padres RHP Randy Vásquez (3-1, 3.20 ERA)

He has allowed eight runs over his last two starts (10⅔ IP), striking out just six against five walks in those two games. Vásquez has a 4.35 ERA in four starts so far this year at Petco Park. Vásquez has a 4.91 ERA in three career starts against the Cardinals, including two last year (8⅔ IP, 6 ER).

Here is how he’s fared against current Cardinals: