St. Louis @ Arizona preview
Chase Field
Last Meeting ( Jun 11, 2010 ) St. Louis 5, Arizona 2
The St. Louis Cardinals managed to post a win, but Albert Pujols is still in a mysterious slump.
The reigning National League MVP will be looking to break out when the Cardinals face the Arizona Diamondbacks on Saturday.
St. Louis snapped a four-game slide with a 5-2 win in the series opener on Friday behind Brendan Ryan’s three-run homer and another win from rookie Jamie Garcia. Skip Schumaker scored a pair of runs and Yadier Molina chipped in a pair of hits in the victory.
Absent from the hit parade was Pujols, who went 0-for-4 and is 5-for-28 in the last eight contests to drop his batting average to an even .300. While a .300 average would be great for most of the hitters in baseball, it represents a low for Pujols, who spent just two days below the mark last season and has only dipped below on four occasions so far in 2010.
Pujols only has one walk in the last four games as well, a sign that the traditionally patient slugger may be beginning to press at the plate.
His slump began to affect those around him on Friday, as the top five hitters in the Cardinals lineup combined to go 1-for-20.
The Diamondbacks will send ace Dan Haren to the mound on Saturday. The veteran right-hander has been anything but an ace at times this season, allowing four or more runs in an outing six times in 13 outings.
But Haren has been alright recently, tossing eight scoreless innings against the Los Angeles Dodgers on June 1 and following it up with a win at the Atlanta Braves six days later.
While the 29-year-old has had plenty of trouble limiting hits - yielding 102 in 87 2/3 innings - he has had good stuff at times, ranking fourth in the NL with 88 strikeouts. Haren struck out eight in six innings against St. Louis on April 20 and earned the win despite allowing seven runs and three homers.
One of those homers was by Pujols, who is 3-for-8 against Haren lifetime.
In his career, Haren is 3-0 with a 4.29 ERA in three starts against the Cardinals.
St. Louis will counter with rookie right-hander Adam Ottavino. The 24-year-old suffered a loss in first major league start on May 29 but bounced back with a decent outing against Milwaukee last week, allowing two runs and five hits in a no decision.
A power pitcher, Ottavino can reach the upper 90s with his fastball and a sinker in the low 90s to go along with a curveball.