Cards hope to right ship in Steel City

Baseball Betting Lines

08/23/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The St. Louis Cardinals have fallen out of first place in the National League's Central Division due to their inconsistent play as of late. A few games against the lowly Pittsburgh Pirates may help get them back in a groove.

St. Louis will attempt to maintain its recent mastery of the Pirates, owners of the worst record in baseball, when the two divisional foes start up a three-game series tonight at PNC Park.

The Cardinals had held a one-game edge on Cincinnati for the top spot in the NL Central before losing a season-worst five straight contests from August 14-20. That slide put the defending division champions 4 1/2 games behind the Reds in the standings, but they've since been able to gain a game back after posting back-to-back wins over San Francisco over the weekend.

St. Louis received excellent starting pitching in both of those victories. All-Star Chris Carpenter tossed 7 1/3 innings of one-run ball in a 5-1 triumph over the Giants on Saturday, while Jaime Garcia followed up with the first shutout of his career to lead the Cards to a 9-0 win yesterday afternoon.

Garcia (11-6) yielded just three hits and walked none while facing just one batter over the minimum in a masterful performance. The rookie, who struck out six and threw only 89 pitches, had set down 13 straight batters before giving up a two-out single to Nate Schierholtz in the ninth.

"I was just trying to go one pitch at a time and not worry about anything else but that," said Garcia afterward.

St. Louis also supplied plenty of offense in the rout. Allen Craig socked a two-run homer and finished with two hits and three RBI, while Jon Jay went 3- for-4 with a run-scoring single to pace the Cardinals' 15-hit attack.

The Cardinals hope to carry the momentum from this weekend's outcome into a 10-game road trip that also includes stops in Washington and Houston. The team is just 26-31 as the visitor this season, but has won three straight and four of its last five away from home.

St. Louis has had its share of success in the Steel City over the past few years. Tony La Russa's squad has gone 8-4 at PNC Park since the start of the 2009 campaign and took two of three from the Pirates in Pittsburgh back in May. They've also prevailed in 11 of the last 13 overall meetings between the clubs, including five of six bouts so far this year.

And to say the Pirates have been struggling lately is an understatement. Pittsburgh scored less than three runs for the 10th time in its last 11 outings in Sunday's matchup with the New York Mets, although the NL Central basement-dwellers were able to stop a five-game slide by coming through with a 2-1 win.

Bucs starter Zach Duke (6-12) held New York to one run on five hits over the first seven innings, with relievers Evan Meek and Joel Hanrahan protecting the one-run advantage over the final two frames. The Pirates mustered only four hits on the day, but two of them were solo homers by Lastings Milledge and Jose Tabata off Mets ace Johan Santana.

"I'm proud of the way we battled to beat one of the best pitchers in the game," said Pittsburgh manager John Russell.

Pittsburgh was able to give Duke just enough support on Sunday, something it's had a lot trouble providing Ross Ohlendorf all throughout this season. The right-hander enters tonight's assignment with a brutal 1-10 record despite a respectable 3.90 earned run average, and he's turned in three straight quality starts with nothing but frustration to show for those efforts.

Ohlendorf worked a season-high eight innings and allowed just four hits against Florida this past Wednesday, but came out on the wrong end of a 3-2 decision. He fired 6 2/3 shutout frames in his previous start, an August 13 clash at Houston, but wound up with a no-decision after the Pittsburgh bullpen blew a late lead. That scenario also took place in an August 7 tilt against Colorado in which Ohlendorf permitted two runs -- one earned -- and four hits through six innings.

The Princeton product, who has posted a 2.35 ERA since June 27, has yet to face the Cardinals this season and is 1-2 with a 2.77 ERA in four lifetime starts against St. Louis.

Pittsburgh will try to get its slumping offense untracked in a matchup with Cards hurler Kyle Lohse. The right-hander was hammered in his first start back from a near three-month stay on the disabled list in an August 15 game against Chicago, with the Cubs pounding him for seven runs and six hits -- including two homers -- in just three innings of work.

Lohse, who had been sidelined since May 22 with a forearm problem which required surgery, is just 1-5 with a bloated 6.79 ERA in 10 starts this season and has surrendered five or more runs in four of his last five trips to the mound.

On the flip side, the 31-year-old sports a 4-0 record and an excellent 2.14 ERA in seven career appearances (six starts) against Pittsburgh and won his only encounter with the Bucs last season, permitting three runs (two earned) over seven effective innings in his 2009 debut.