Oakland @ St. Louis preview
Busch Stadium
Last Meeting ( Jun 19, 2010 ) Oakland 3, St. Louis 4
Widely renowned as the best pitching coach in baseball, Dave Duncan has his work cut out for him getting Jeff Suppan back into form.
Suppan will make his second start for the St. Louis Cardinals when they go for a sweep of the Oakland Athletics on Sunday.
One of the key pieces of the Cardinals team that won the 2006 World Series, Suppan took his World Series ring and the magic that Duncan had helped him create and signed with the Milwaukee Brewers as a free agent that winter for four years and $42 million. Whatever Duncan did for him in St. Louis did not carry over to the Brewers.
Suppan went 29-34 with a 4.93 ERA in his first three seasons in Milwaukee, allowing 10.7 hits per nine innings. This season started off even worse, with the veteran right-hander making three starts before being banished to the bullpen. He was designated for assignment by the Brewers at the beginning of the month while carrying a 7.84 ERA.
But with Milwaukee picking up the tab for the rest of the season and Brad Penny and Kyle Lohse on the disabled list, the Cardinals brought Suppan back to see if Duncan could resurrect the pitcher who went 32-19 with a 3.86 ERA in two seasons under the veteran coach’s tutelage.
Suppan made his first start for St. Louis against the Seattle Mariners on Tuesday, stretching back out with four innings. He allowed one run on four hits and walked two while striking out four and recording seven groundouts – a key marker for Suppan’s success.
Looking to provide the offensive support for Suppan will be Matt Holliday and Skip Schumaker, who have keyed both wins in this series in their new spots as Nos. 1 and 2 hitters in Tony La Russa’s lineup.
Moved together for the first time in the last series against Seattle, Schumaker and Holliday have taken off in front of Albert Pujols against the A’s, with Holliday going 5-for-8 with two homers and six RBIs and Schumaker going 5-for-7 with four runs scored and two RBIs.
Holliday, who played for Oakland last season before being traded to the Cardinals, hit only 11 homers in 93 games with the A’s last season.
He will be taking his cuts against former teammate Trevor Cahill today. The 22-year-old right-hander has not lost since May 16 and has allowed only one earned run in four of his last six outings.
Cahill struggled a tad against a National League team last Tuesday, however, allowing four earned runs and six hits in 5 2/3 innings against the Chicago Cubs. He still earned the win as the A’s offense sparked a 9-5 victory.