St. Louis @ Pittsburgh preview
PNC Park
Last Meeting ( Aug 1, 2010 ) Pittsburgh 1, St. Louis 9
Inconsistent play has kept the St. Louis Cardinals bobbing in and out of playoff position since the All-Star break, but the team hopes to solidify its standing in the National League postseason picture by continuing its dominance against the Pittsburgh Pirates.
St. Louis and Pittsburgh begin a three-game series on Monday at PNC Park.
The Cardinals lost five in a row last week to fall out of first place in the NL Central, but they won the final two games of their weekend series against the San Francisco Giants to get within 3 1/2 games of the division-leading Cincinnati Reds. They also sit two games back of the Philadelphia Phillies in the wild card race.
St. Louis' ability to make up those deficits - or at least keep them manageable - likely will hinge on how it handles a 10-game road trip, which begins on Monday.
St. Louis is 26-31 on the road, though it won four of five on its last road trip - including a three-game sweep in Cincinnati, In addition, the Cardinals have won eight of 10 at PNC Park and are 5-1 against Pittsburgh this year.
The Cardinals won their last two against the Giants behind outstanding pitching from Chris Carpenter and rookie Jaime Garcia. They could use another strong start on Monday from Kyle Lohse, who has struggled this season but has dominated the Pirates.
Lohse (1-5, 6.79 ERA) will make his second start since coming off the disabled list from a right forearm strain. His first start back didn't go well, as he allowed seven runs over three innings in a 9-7 loss to the Chicago Cubs on Sunday.
The 31-year-old right-hander hopes to turn it around against the Pirates, against whom he is 4-0 with a 2.14 ERA in six career starts.
Pittsburgh snapped a five-game losing streak with a 2-1 win Sunday against the New York Mets, but that win did little to soften the blow of the Pirates' 5-16 mark in August. As a result, Pittsburgh solidified its 18th consecutive losing season.
The offense has been particularly punchless this month, as the Pirates have hit .228 as a team and averaged 2.8 runs per game.
No one knows more about the Pirates' offensive woes than Monday's scheduled starter, Ross Ohlendorf, who has been the poster boy for tough luck.
Ohlendorf (1-10, 3.90 ERA) has received more than four runs of support only four times in 20 starts and has found himself on the wrong end of four shutouts.
The 28-year-old right-hander hasn't won since July 2, though the Pirates have wasted quality starts in five of his eight outings since then. Over his past three starts, Ohlendorf has allowed only four earned runs in 20 2/3 innings (1.74 ERA), but he still doesn't have a win to show for it.
Tough luck has been the norm when Ohlendorf faces the Cardinals - he is 1-2 with a 2.77 ERA in four starts against them, all in 2009. He has fared well against most of the Cardinals' lineup - including Albert Pujols, who is 1-for-6 against him - but Skip Schumaker has given him fits, going 6-for-13 with a homer against him.