Los Angeles @ St. Louis preview
Busch Stadium
Last Meeting ( May 21, 2010 ) LA Angels 5, St. Louis 9
The St. Louis Cardinals received some unexpected offense from an unlikely source, but may have lost a key member of their rotation in the process.
Brad Penny belted a grand slam in the third inning of Friday’s 9-5 victory over the Los Angeles Angels, however, he tweaked an existing back injury and was forced to leave prior to the fourth inning.
Penny could be headed to the disabled list, according to general manager John Mozeliak, but the Cardinals, who have won four of their last five, will forge ahead either way.
St. Louis and Los Angeles will take to the diamond on Saturday in the second of a three-game Interleague set at Busch Stadium.
Penny wasn’t the only one supplying the offense in the opener as Felipe Lopez homered and tripled in a pair of runs and Colby Rasmus had a pair of RBIs as the club got to Angels starter Joel Pineiro for nine runs on nine hits in three innings.
Scott Kazmir will be hoping for a better showing when he toes the rubber for the Angels on Saturday.
But Kazmir has been far from dependable in his first full season with the club as he has dropped three consecutive decisions. He has allowed 14 runs and 22 hits during that span.
The left-hander, who opened the season on the disabled list, is 2-4 with a 6.51 ERA on the year and has pitched past the seventh inning just one time.
The Angels have won just two of his seven starts.
Kyle Lohse, mired in a disappointing campaign of his own, takes the hill for the Cardinals. The right-hander has just one victory in eight starts, boasting a 5.11 ERA.
On the bright side, Lohse is coming off his first win of 2010 by allowing one earned run on six hits in six innings of Monday’s 6-2 conquest of Washington.
Lohse is familiar with the Angels, having spent six seasons in the American League, but the results haven’t always been pretty. He is 4-4 with a 6.19 ERA through 10 career starts.
Los Angeles got a two-run homer from catcher Mike Napoli, who added a double and scored twice, in Friday’s loss.
Napoli is starting to show signs of life at the plate following a sluggish start, notching 10 hits over his past 11 games as his average has risen 22 points to .242.