St. Louis @ Philadelphia preview

Last Meeting ( May 5, 2010 ) St. Louis 0, Philadelphia 4

The high-powered St. Louis Cardinals' offense has been rendered powerless in the team's last two games.

Tony La Russa's club has managed one lonely run over the last 19 innings.
And things just went from bad to worse for the National League-leading Cardinals. They'll face ace Roy Halladay (5-1, 1.47 ERA) on Thursday afternoon in the finale of a four-game set against the Philadelphia Phillies.

The 32-year-old right-hander handcuffed the New York Mets during Saturday's nationally televised contest. Halladay scattered three hits and struck out six en route to recording his 52nd career complete game in a 10-0 thrashing of their NL East rivals.

The game also marked Halladay's third complete game of the season and keeps him in the early conversation for National League Cy Young Award consideration.

To put it into perspective, Halladay has as many shutouts (two) this season as there have been Phillies' fans who have jumped the wall and run on the field at Citizens Bank Park.

Halladay has faced the Cardinals just once in his career when he scattered five hits while keeping three-time National League Most Valuable Player Albert Pujols at bay in a 4-1 victory on June 13, 2005.

Fast forward to the present and Pujols is currently riding a 10-game hitting streak - albeit not in spectacular fashion in the City of Brotherly Love.

The slugger has been kept in check this series, most notably in Tuesday's 4-0 loss to the Phillies. Starter Kyle Kendrick allowed just one bloop single to Pujols, who came to the plate with no runners on base in all four of his at-bats.

While Pujols has been kept under wraps, Ryan Ludwick is apparently coming to the plate with handcuffs around his wrists. Ludwick is 0-for-12 with five strikeouts in the series.

In an effort to avoid its third consecutive loss, St. Louis will counter with Kyle Lohse (0-1, 5.28 ERA), who has pitched well in his last two starts but failed to record a decision.

The 31-year-old right-hander certainly pitched well enough to succeed on Saturday - permitting one run in five hits through seven innings against the Cincinnati Reds - but the team found its offensive stroke in the latter innings to leave Lohse out in the cold.

Lohse struggled in both of his outings against Philadelphia last season - amassing an 0-1 mark with a mountainous 9.72 ERA in the process.

While the Phillies have won five of their last seven games, they may have some more good news coming in the near future.

Philadelphia shortstop Jimmy Rollins will be sent to extended spring training on Sunday. The 2009 Gold Glove winner has been sidelined since April 13 with a strained right calf.

Ironically, shortstop Juan Castro left Wednesday's game in the seventh inning with a left hamstring strain after running out an infield single. He is listed as day-to-day.