St. Louis @ Chicago preview
Wrigley Field
Last Meeting ( Jul 23, 2010 ) St. Louis 0, Chi. Cubs 5
Two games can hardly be considered a trend, but St. Louis Cardinals manager Tony La Russa has to be wondering what's happened to his offense.
The Cardinals have lost two in a row after winning eight straight, primarily because their offense has disappeared. St. Louis didn't score in either game, covering a stretch of 20 innings.
St. Louis managed one hit in 11 innings on Thursday in a 2-0 loss to the struggling Philadelphia Phillies. On Friday, the Cardinals were held to five hits in a 5-0 defeat to the Chicago Cubs, and one of those was by starting pitcher Jeff Suppan.
St. Louis hasn't scored since the eighth inning of Wednesday's contest against the Phillies and hasn't even had an extra-base hit in two contests.
Matt Holliday, who had the only hit Thursday, singled on Friday. Three-time National League Most Valuable Player Albert Pujols was hitless in four at-bats in both games.
Even facing Randy Wells, a pitcher the Cardinals hammered on May 28, didn't help Friday. The right-hander pitched seven shutout innings to avenge the worst outing of his career. In that contest, he allowed five runs and didn't retire a batter.
The Cardinals will face a hot pitcher on Saturday as Tom Gorzelanny has won his last three starts. The left-hander began the season in the rotation and was sent to the bullpen in late May. He was moved back into the rotation when Carlos Zambrano was suspended following his dugout tirade in last June.
Gorzelanny has made four starts since leaving the bullpen. He's given up six earned runs and 20 hits in 22 2/3 innings. Gorzelanny has struck out 21, but has also walked 15 - so being patient could pay off for the St. Louis hitters.
Gorzelanny, who will be making his first appearance of the season against St. Louis, held Philadelphia to two earned runs and five hits in 6 2/3 innings Sunday.
Blake Hawksworth was also moved from the bullpen to the rotation late last month. He has won three of his five starts since the move, including the last two. The right-hander defeated the Phillies on Monday, allowing four runs and 10 hits in six innings.
Hawksworth has made one relief appearance against Chicago this season, allowing a run and two hits in one inning.
While Hawksworth has pitched better as a starter, his overall numbers are poor. He has allowed 80 hits, including eight home runs, in 59 1/3 innings and batters are hitting .328 against him.
The Cubs, who are 25-26 at home, would move back to .500 at Wrigley Field with a win on Saturday.