Padres pregame: Seeking ninth straight win to keep postseason hopes alive

Bob Melvin insists he hasn’t checked the standings at all throughout this win streak, at eight games heading into Saturday’s 5:40 p.m. start.

Don’t bother talking to him about postseason odds, either, calculated at 1.1 percent by ESPN after the Cubs’ afternoon win on Saturday.

Not important right now.

“We’re just playing right now,” the Padres’ second-year skipper said Friday night. “We’ve tried all sorts of different strategies here to try to understand where we are. I think right now we’re just playing games and I don’t think that’s going to change at all. You want to talk about hitters meeting (Friday), do you want to talk about, ‘Hey, look at the position we’re in?’

“Nope. Just keep playing. Do what we’ve been doing.”

The Padres are eyeing their longest winning streak since winning nine in a row in mid-May 2021. They are back to two games under .500, within a game of the fourth-place San Francisco Giants (77-77) and 4½ games behind the Cubs with eight games left to the season.

Hence the long 1.1 percent odds.

Shortstop Xander Bogaerts will remain atop the order on Saturday despite doing 0-for-4 on Friday to snap a string of six straight games with at least two hits.

Manny Machado (elbow) remains in the lineup as the DH and Luis Campusano is back behind the plate and batting fifth after giving way to Brett Sullivan for Friday’s pairing with knuckleballer Matt Waldron.

Ha-Seong Kim is also playing a second straight game since returning from his stomach ailment.

Here is how the Cardinals will line up for Game 2:

Saturday’s pitching matchup

Cardinals RHP Jake Woodford (2-2, 5.31 ERA)

He has a 4.52 ERA in his career as a starter (73 2/3 IP) and a 3.66 ERA as a reliever (105 2/3 IP). He opened the season with a 5.72 ERA in six starts in April. Woodford has allowed three runs in 3 1/3 innings in relief against the Padres and has history with only four current Padres:

• 3B Manny Machado (0-for-1, RBI, SF)
• 2B Ha-Seong Kim (0-for-2)
• CF Trent Grisham (1-for-1, BB)
• CF José Azocar (1-for-1)

Padres RHP Nick Martinez (5-4, 3.73 ERA)

He’s allowed one run in his last 11 innings, which includes throwing three shutout innings in his return to the rotation over the weekend in Oakland. Martinez threw 25 of his 40 pitches for strikes. Martinez has a 2.94 ERA in seven starts and a 4.12 ERA over 67 2/3 innings as a reliever.

• 1B Paul Goldschmidt (2-for-5, 2 BBs, 1 K)
• 2B Tommy Edman (2-for-3, RB, BB, K)
• OF Juan Yepez (1-for-4, K)
• SS MasynWinn (0-for-1)
• 1B Jordan Walker (0-for-1)