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Cardinals-Reds Preview

Jul 4, 2009 - 9:45 PM By ANTHONY GIORNALISTA STATS Senior Writer

St. Louis (44-38) at Cincinnati (39-39), 1:10 p.m. EDT

St. Louis Cardinals ace Chris Carpenter has lost two straight starts and is coming off his worst outing since 2006. Perhaps a matchup with the Cincinnati Reds can get him back on track.

Carpenter looks to put together another dominant performance against the Reds as he takes the mound for the Cardinals in the finale of a three-game series Sunday.

Carpenter (5-3, 2.42 ERA) has allowed at least three runs in four of five starts after posting a 0.71 ERA through his first six outings of the season, the last of which was a three-hitter in a 3-1 win over Cincinnati on June 4.

It was his second consecutive complete game versus the Reds, with the previous one coming in a 5-0 St. Louis win Aug. 15, 2006. He's 4-3 with a 2.29 ERA and a .192 opponents' batting average in 10 starts against Cincinnati.

On Tuesday night, though, Carpenter gave up six runs and 11 hits in five innings as the Cardinals (44-39) lost 6-3 to San Francisco. It was his worst effort since surrendering six runs and 12 hits on Sept. 26, 2006, against San Diego.

"Anytime you lose, you're frustrated. But I'll be ready to go (Sunday)," Carpenter told the Cardinals' official Web site.

The Reds (40-39) have won six of nine and are batting .308 with 31 doubles in that span. They reached double digits in hits for a third straight game Saturday in a 5-2 victory to even this series.

Cincinnati has given up two runs or fewer in three of four games since Bronson Arroyo (8-7, 5.69) last took the mound, and the struggling right-hander will get the ball again Sunday.

Arroyo is 1-3 with an 8.27 ERA in his last four starts and the Reds lost five of his six outings in June as opponents hit .312 against him. He gave up six runs and 10 hits in 5 1-3 innings of Cincinnati's 6-2 loss to Arizona on Tuesday night.

"I'm just having a hard time getting into the groove," Arroyo said.

He's 5-7 with a 4.59 ERA in 20 games versus the Cardinals and struggled in his only outing against them this year, giving up five runs in 5 1-3 innings of a 5-2 loss June 2.

One of the seven hits he allowed was an RBI double to Albert Pujols, who has hit .318 (14 for 44) with five doubles and three homers against Arroyo.

Pujols singled and scored in the sixth inning Saturday, but grounded out with runners on first and second with two outs in the seventh as St. Louis went 0 for 7 with runners in scoring position. A day earlier, he hit his club-record fourth grand slam of the season to help the Cardinals win 7-4.

St. Louis shortstop Brendan Ryan should be back in the starting lineup after being scratched due to an upset stomach. Tyler Greene replaced Ryan, going 0 for 4 to extend his hitless streak to 21 at-bats.

Joey Votto, meanwhile, remains hot for the Reds, going 2 for 4 with a homer and two RBIs. The first baseman is batting .436 (17 for 39) with eight RBIs in his last nine games, and he's hit .478 (11 for 23) with four homers in his last seven games versus the Cardinals.

Votto has never faced Carpenter.

Edwin Encarnacion, Jerry Hairston Jr. and Ramon Hernandez - the 6-7-8 hitters in Cincinnati's lineup Saturday - are a combined 9 for 61 (.147) against Carpenter.