Philadelphia @ St. Louis preview

Last Meeting ( Jun 22, 2011 ) Philadelphia 4, St. Louis 0

THE STORY: The St. Louis Cardinals have packed little punch without Albert Pujols in the lineup. After being handcuffed by Roy Halladay and completely dominated by Cliff Lee, Tony La Russa's club will try to salvage the finale of a three-game series against the Philadelphia Phillies when it faces Roy Oswalt on Thursday. The reeling Cardinals have dropped both outings without Pujols and nine of their last 11 overall to fall out of first place in the National League Central. Conversely, red-hot Philadelphia has won 10 of its last 12 and will look to complete the sweep against a struggling Chris Carpenter.

TV: 8:15 ET, CSN (Philadelphia), FSMW (St. Louis)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Phillies RH Roy Oswalt (4-5, 3.37 ERA) vs. Cardinals RH Chris Carpenter (1-7, 4.47 ERA)

Oswalt has struggled mightily since visiting the disabled list in late April. All told, the 33-year-old Mississippi native has dropped five of his last six decisions - including his last outing on Friday against the Seattle Mariners. Although he has routinely been a victim of a lack of run support, Oswalt didn't do himself any favors by allowing four runs on eight hits in 6 1/3 innings against Seattle. The veteran has fared well against the Cardinals, posting a 9-8 career mark with a 3.15 ERA. Oswalt yielded one run on seven hits in a no-decision against St. Louis on May 17.

Carpenter did all he could to end his slide in his last outing on Friday. The 36-year-old New Hampshire native tossed 124 pitches - his most in a game in nearly 10 years - but was unable to stop his five-game losing skid in a 5-4 setback to the Kansas City Royals. Carpenter permitted five runs for the second straight outing and is winless since May 10. While Carpenter does possess a 5-2 career mark versus Philadelphia, his 5.08 ERA does leave a bit to be desired.

ABOUT THE PHILLIES (47-28): With his mother and father in attendance, St. Louis native Ryan Howard launched an opposite-field homer in Wednesday's 4-0 victory over the Cardinals. Howard is batting .374 with nine homers and 34 RBIs in 25 career games at Busch Stadium. He is just 1-for-6 in his career against Carpenter, but that "one" left the park. Jimmy Rollins also went deep on Wednesday for his fourth homer of the month and seventh of the season. Rollins has struggled against Carpenter, collecting just four hits in 21 career at-bats. Chase Utley's run-scoring sacrifice fly in the ninth inning was his 12th RBI in 10 games.

ABOUT THE CARDINALS (40-35): In two games without the face of the franchise, St. Louis has mustered just two runs on 11 hits in two games. After an 0-for-3 effort on Tuesday, Lance Berkman collected two of his team's six hits on Wednesday. The Cardinals are expected to lean heavily on Berkman with Pujols sidelined an estimated six weeks with a fractured left wrist. Rookie Andrew Brown, who was specifically inserted into the lineup on Wednesday to face the left-handed Lee, went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts.

FINAL PITCH: St. Louis released veteran reliever Miguel Batista on Wednesday, one day after he walked consecutive batters with the bases loaded. The 40-year-old Batista also permitted a two-run single to Rollins as the Phillies scored nine times in the eighth inning and cruised to a 10-2 victory on Tuesday.