St. Louis @ Chicago preview
Wrigley Field
Last Meeting ( Sep 24, 2010 ) St. Louis 7, Chi. Cubs 1
St. Louis Cardinals starter Chris Carpenter has been one of the league’s most consistent pitchers over the past few years, but he heads into Saturday’s start against the Chicago Cubs in the middle of a nasty slump.
Carpenter (15-8, 3.28 ERA) was rolling along with a 13-3 record before dropping a 3-1 decision to the Cubs on Aug. 14. It’s all been pretty much downhill since then as he has lost three straight and five of his last eight starts.
During his three-game skid, Carpenter has given up 15 runs over 17 1/3 innings for a 7.79 ERA. The big right-hander hasn’t lost four straight since his last four games as a member of the Toronto Blue Jays in 2002.
Carpenter, who finished second in NL Cy Young voting last season, is coming off a 4-0 loss against the Florida Marlins. He pitched pretty well in that outing for the most part, but was done in by a second-inning grand slam. Carpenter finished the afternoon having allowed the four runs and five hits with six strikeouts and two walks.
The Cardinals' bats should be able to help him out if they can keep their current hot streak going.
St. Louis (79-74) has put up 22 runs over its last three games.
Albert Pujols, who is making a late-season push for another National League MVP award after tough stretch in August, was 1-for-2 with three walks in St. Louis’ 7-1 win over Chicago on Friday. Pujols has four home runs in seven games at Wrigley Field this year and Matt Holliday is riding a 16-game hitting streak after picking up a single on Friday.
The Cubs (69-84) send rookie Casey Coleman (2-2, 5.02 ERA) to the mound on Saturday.
The young right-hander is looking more comfortable with each start and is coming off a 5-3 win over the Marlins that saw him give up three runs over six innings. The 23-year-old held the Milwaukee Brewers to a single run over six innings in a 2-0 loss in the start before the win over Florida.
The Cubs love Coleman’s attitude and are grooming him for a permanent spot in the rotation next year.
Chicago’s lineup looks a little lighter at this point in the season. Geovany Soto and rookie Tyler Colvin are both out for the year and Marlon Byrd’s status for Saturday’s game is questionable after he fouled a ball off his face on Friday, forcing an early exit.
Aramis Ramirez hit his 24th home run in Friday’s loss and now has 14 blasts and 45 RBIs since the All-Star break.