Seattle @ St. Louis preview
Busch Stadium
Last Meeting ( Jun 14, 2010 ) Seattle 3, St. Louis 9
The No. 2 spot in the lineup was a foreign place for Matt Holliday before Monday night, but the St. Louis Cardinals outfielder might want to get used to hitting there.
Holliday went 3-for-22 on a six-game road trip and was hitting .205 through 11 games in June, but switching places with Ryan Ludwick seemed to do both some good Monday.
In that light, the Cardinals might try the new-look lineup again when they continue their series against the Seattle Mariners on Tuesday at Busch Stadium.
Hitting in the No. 2 spot for the first time in his career, Holliday went 2-for-4 and scored twice, and Ludwick looked at home in the cleanup spot by driving in four runs. Albert Pujols went 3-for-3 sandwiched between them, so the trio in the heart of the order combined for seven hits, six runs and five RBIs as St. Louis recorded a 9-3 victory.
Not bad for an offense that scored only 19 runs during a 1-5 road trip that wrapped up Sunday.
The Cardinals will look to keep up the offensive production against 27-year-old left-hander Ryan Rowland-Smith, who is still looking for his first win of the season.
Rowland-Smith (0-5, 6.62 ERA) was sent to the bullpen after compiling an 0-4 record and a 7.62 ERA in his first eight starts.
After three relief appearances without allowing an earned run, the Australian returned to the rotation with a solid start on June 5 against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Unfortnuately for Rowland-Smith, he was dinged for eight runs - four earned - on 11 hits in 5 2/3 innings Thursday against the Texas Rangers.
One factor working in Rowland-Smith's favor is the fact the Cardinals hit 30 points lower against lefties than righties, though they did score four runs on six hits in four innings against southpaw Luke French on Monday.
The Cardinals have called on a name from their past to take the mound on Tuesday, as they signed 35-year-old right-hander Jeff Suppan on Monday.
Suppan started 95 games for the Cardinals from 2004-06, compiling a 44-26 record and a 3.95 ERA. He hasn't fared nearly as well this year, though.
Suppan was 0-2 with a 7.84 ERA in 15 appearances for the Milwaukee Brewers, who cut him last week. He was sent to the bullpen after getting knocked around in his first two starts, but things didn't get much better. The Brewers cut him after he gave up three runs on three hits in 1 1/3 innings against the Cardinals on June 4.
During his years with the Boston Red Sox and Kansas City Royals, Suppan saw plenty of the Mariners. He has made 15 starts and one relief appearance against Seattle and is 2-4 with a 7.00 ERA in those games.
The Mariners have lost six of seven, and they've scored only 17 runs during that span.