St. Louis @ Philadelphia preview
Citizens Bank Park
Last Meeting ( Sep 18, 2011 ) St. Louis 5, Philadelphia 0
THE STORY: With a division title and subsequent playoff berth in their possession, the Philadelphia Phillies have the luxury of resting their studs. The St. Louis Cardinals, however, aren't as fortunate - so they are going to ride Albert Pujols as far as he can carry them. Pujols belted his National League-leading 36th homer on Sunday as the Cardinals collected their ninth win in 11 outings with a 5-0 triumph over the Phillies. St. Louis will look to keep pressure on the Atlanta Braves in the race for the wild card when it wraps up its four-game set with Philadelphia on Monday at Citizens Bank Park. The Cardinals trail the Braves by 3 1/2 games in the wild-card standings.
TV: 7:05 p.m. ET, FSMW (St. Louis), CSN (Philadelphia)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Cardinals RH Kyle Lohse (13-8, 3.62 ERA) vs. Phillies RH Roy Halladay (18-5, 2.34 ERA)
Lohse has won two in a row and five of his last six decisions, but settled for a no-decision in his last outing. He permitted three runs on eight hits in six innings in a 6-5 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates last Monday. Lohse has dropped two of six career decisions to the Phillies, including his lone outing this season on June 22. He yielded three runs over eight innings in a 4-0 loss.
Halladay continues to make his case for another NL Cy Young Award. The reigning trophy holder has won three in a row and 13 of his last 15 decisions. Halladay tossed his eighth complete game of the season in his last outing, scattering six hits and striking out seven in a 1-0 triumph over the Houston Astros on Wednesday. The veteran hurler is 2-0 in his career versus the Cardinals, but settled for a no-decision in his lone outing against them on June 21.
ABOUT THE CARDINALS (83-69): Allen Craig had difficulty with getting the bunt down during his sixth-inning at-bat on Sunday. Craig then tried a different route and doubled the advantage with a two-run homer before going deep again in the eighth. The homers were his first since Aug. 17, when he belted two against the Pirates. Pujols' two-run blast put him five RBIs shy of 100. Pujols, who is sitting at .300, is vying for his 11th straight season of batting .300 with 30 homers and 100 RBIs. He has reached base safely in 34 consecutive games, although Pujols is just 1-for-7 in his career against Halladay.
ABOUT THE PHILLIES (98-53): With the division title under wraps, manager Charlie Manuel is expected to get creative with the lineup in order to get some of the studs some rest. Slugger Ryan Howard will be sidelined for a few days as he deals with bursitis in his left ankle and heel. Howard will receive a cortisone injection on Monday. Ross Gload and John Mayberry Jr. will man first base in the interim. Catcher Carlos Ruiz also was given the night off. Chase Utley had three of his team's eight hits on Sunday, but is just 4-for-20 in his career against Lohse. Righthander Joe Blanton, who was the team's No. 5 starter when the season began, came out of the bullpen and allowed Craig's second homer.
FINAL PITCH: "You want to be out there and play but at the same time, now the focus is more on October, being healthy for October." - Howard