Philadelphia @ St. Louis preview
Busch Stadium
Last Meeting ( Jul 19, 2010 ) Philadelphia 4, St. Louis 8
Ryan Howard may be enjoying the benefits of being home, but the Philadelphia Phillies are hating life on the road as of late.
The St. Louis native had an RBI double to highlight a three-run first inning on Monday, but the NL Central-leading Cardinals (52-41) belted four home runs and cruised to their season-high sixth straight win with an 8-4 triumph.
The loss served as the eighth in 10 road games for the Phillies (48-44), who are now a season-worst six games out of first place in the NL East.
They will look to exact a measure of revenge on Tuesday in the second of a four-game set on Tuesday.
Howard had two hits on Monday and has fared well in his career at Busch Stadium. The All-Star first baseman belted seven homers and 30 RBIs in 18 contests in the Gateway City.
Well, the Cardinals have an All-Star first baseman of their own - and the three-time National League Most Valuable Player was not left out of the fireworks on Monday.
All-Star Albert Pujols belted a two-run homer, rookie Allen Craig notched his first major league home run and Skip Schumaker also went deep in the five-run fifth inning.
Randy Winn also homered, Jon Jay had an RBI double and Felipe Lopez scored twice for the Cardinals, who improved to a season-best 11 games over .500.
Keeping St. Louis' sluggers at bay will be the responsibility of Jamie Moyer (9-9, 4.88 ERA). The 47-year-old left-hander has lost his last three starts in convincing fashion.
In his last outing, Moyer allowed six runs in three innings en route to a 12-6 loss to the Chicago Cubs on Thursday.
The veteran does have some good news in his corner. Moyer is 5-1 with a 2.35 ERA in 11 career starts against the Cardinals.
St. Louis will counter with Chris Carpenter (10-3, 3.16 ERA), who overcame a three-game slump prior to the All-Star break with a dominating performance in his last outing.
The 35-year-old right-hander permitted four hits and struck out six in eight innings in a 7-1 triumph over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Thursday.
Although he hasn't faced the Phillies in four years, Carpenter does own a 4-2 record with a 5.73 ERA against them.
He'll need to find a way to keep Placido Polanco at bay. The veteran infielder extended his hitting streak to 11 games with an infield hit in the first inning of Monday's game.
On the injury front, St. Louis outfielder Ryan Ludwick is expected to begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A Memphis on Tuesday. The 32-year-old Ludwick has been on the disabled list since June 26 with a strained left calf.