As the 2025 regular season continues, here are three things well be keeping an eye on around the baseball world today: 1. Padres scrambling in center? The Padres lineup took a major hit when went on the injured list with a hamstring strain earlier this week, but that injury looms even larger now that outfielder is suffering from a hamstring i sue of his own. Lockridge hasnt hit much (58 wRC+) in a part-time role this year, but he figured to get expanded James Johnson Jersey opportunities as the clubs center fielder while Merrill is out of action. As noted by , Lockridge appears to have avoided significant damage but is day-to-day due to inflammation in his hamstring. If Lockridge is unable to play, the Padres options in center are shaky at best. has plenty of experience but only played seven innings there in 2024 and is now in his age-35 season. and have both made token appearances in center over their MLB careers, but a 40-man roster move to bring up a non-roster player like may be in order if Lockridge ends up mi sing time. One other option could be sliding over to center field. He has just 12 games of experience at the position but has expre sed interest in playing there more frequently in the past. 2. Series Preview: Cubs @ Padres Speaking of the Padres, theyre entering a series that could wind up serving as a preview of a playoff matchup if the two participating teams continue their hot starts to the season. The Cubs have won four consecutive series and are 11-7 overall, and theyre arriving in San Diego to face a Padres club thats 13-3 so far this year. Two of those three lo ses came in Chicago just last week, but the Padres are undefeated in 10 home games to this point in the season. The series kicks off at 6:40pm local time this evening, with right-hander set to take the mound against the team that drafted him opposite . After todays game, the sides will have two rematches from last weeks series with and both toeing the rubber for the Padres opposite and . 3. Pitchers duel in St. Louis: The Cardinals are hosting the Astros at 6:45pm CT to kick off this weeks three-game series, and both teams are sending their aces to the mound for todays contest. Veteran right-hander has had a bit of a difficult start to his age-35 season, with a 4.50 ERA over his first three starts, but he looked more like himself his last time out against the Pirates when he shut down Pittsburghs offense with five innings of three-hit ball. Southpaw , meanwhile, has looked as good as ever as he kicks off his final year before free agency. Hes posted a 2.50 ERA and struck out 29.6% of opponents over his first three starts, including six scorele s innings where he struck out eight Mariners and held Seattle to just two hits his last time out. Devonte Patterson Jersey