When the San Diego Padres arrived in St. Louis on September 17, 2021, they were just one game behind the Cardinals for the final National League wild card spot and staring down a series that could have catapulted them back into control of their own destiny in the playoff race.
Instead, the Cardinals swept those three games to extend their winning streak to eight, and it would finish as a franchise-record 17-game stretch without a loss. The Padres would spin out, with stars Manny Machado and Fernando Tatis, Jr. getting into a heated argument in the visitors’ dugout at Busch Stadium that set the tone for their 2-13 finish to the season.
Mike Shildt was in the Cardinals dugout for that series, and he makes his return to St. Louis this week with the Padres…