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Cardinals-Phillies Preview

Jul 25, 2009 - 4:42 AM By MATT BEARDMORE STATS Writer

St. Louis (52-46) at Philadelphia (54-39), 4:10 p.m. EDT

For a St. Louis Cardinals club struggling to score runs, two trades this week have already changed that trend.

With newcomers Matt Holliday and Julio Lugo already looking comfortable donning their Cardinals uniforms, St. Louis goes for its second straight victory over the Philadelphia Phillies on Saturday afternoon at Citizens Bank Park.

Heading into Friday's series opener, St. Louis (53-46) was batting .222 and averaging 3.2 runs while dropping four of six. Friday's trade for Holliday sent three prospects to Oakland, but the NL Central leaders added a much-needed bat for the heart of its struggling lineup.

"(Holliday) really deepens our lineup," Cardinals manager Tony La Russa told the teams' official Web site. "You start talking about Matt, and you have Mark (DeRosa) here, and that makes us deeper. That's one of the keys to improving the offense is to get deeper."

After going 1 for 4 on Thursday in the Athletics' 6-3 loss at Yankee Stadium, Holliday went 4 for 5 with a stolen base and an RBI in Friday's 8-1 victory over the NL East-leading Phillies.

"It's a blessing to be here and to be able to contribute," said the three-time All-Star.

Lugo also had a memorable Cardinals debut. After being acquired from Boston on Wednesday for Chris Duncan, the 33-year-old infielder went 2 for 5 with a triple and a solo homer in Friday's victory.

Another scoring surge Saturday would be welcomed by right-hander Kyle Lohse (4-6, 4.21 ERA), who has lost his last three starts. In Monday's 3-2 defeat to Houston, Lohse went seven innings and allowed three runs - on a home run by Carlos Lee - and five hits.

"Lohse pitched very well," La Russa said. "The big deal is not that he gave up the home run, it's that we only got two runs. He pitched a winning game. We just didn't do enough offensively."

Lohse, 0-3 with a 5.59 ERA in five road starts, surrendered six runs and seven hits over 4 1-3 innings in a 6-1 loss to the Phillies on May 4.

This is Lohse's third start since missing more than a month with a right forearm strain.

He'll face a Philadelphia club (54-40) looking to bounce back from its lowest-scoring home game since a 2-1 loss to Baltimore on June 21. Following that defeat, the Phillies batted .290 and averaged 6.7 runs while winning 12 of their next 14 home games.

Rodrigo Lopez (2-0, 2.60) will try to get Philadelphia back on track Saturday when he makes his fourth start this year. Despite missing almost two season due to Tommy John surgery on his right elbow, the 33-year-old right-hander has been solid since being promoted from Triple-A Lehigh Valley on July 3.

Lopez, though, understands there's a possibility that newly signed three-time Cy Young Award winner Pedro Martinez could join the Phillies' rotation in the next few weeks.

"I would think as long as I'm doing my job and everything, I think there's going to be a spot open for me. Somewhere," Lopez said after giving up one run and five hits in Monday's 10-1 victory over the Chicago Cubs. "I'm just going to work on that and be more consistent. I can't control what will happen in the future. I've got worry about my next start."

Lopez is 1-1 with a 7.36 ERA in two starts versus St. Louis.