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Dodgers-Cardinals Preview

Jul 30, 2009 - 6:34 AM By MATT BECKER STATS Senior Writer

Los Angeles (62-39) at St. Louis (56-48), 8:15 p.m. EDT

Although the Los Angeles Dodgers will still leave St. Louis with the best record in the NL, the Cardinals are trying to prove they belong in the discussion for the league's best team.

After a dramatic extra-inning victory, Albert Pujols and the Central-leading Cardinals look to make a statement by sweeping a four-game series over the West-leading Dodgers in Thursday's finale.

With two outs and two on in the 15th inning of a tie game Wednesday, Pujols lined an RBI single over the head of center fielder Matt Kemp, giving St. Louis a 3-2 victory over the Dodgers (62-39), who are in the midst of a season-high four-game skid.

The Cardinals (56-48), who had lost five of seven prior to this series, had to rally twice.

In the ninth inning, St. Louis was down to its last strike before Colby Rasmus' broken-bat, opposite-field RBI single off Jonathan Broxton. It ended Broxton's run of 12 consecutive saves.

Two innings later, Los Angeles' Casey Blake scored on a sacrifice fly, but the Cardinals answered in the bottom of the 11th with Ryan Ludwick's RBI single.

"It was huge the way we battled back," said Pujols, who finished with three hits. "In a game like this, you have to make a lot of great plays."

While Pujols provided the final heroics, Manny Ramirez was involved in a couple of decisive plays.

Not known for his fielding, Ramirez made spectacular leaping catch at the left-field wall to prevent a go-ahead extra-base hit by Brendan Ryan to end the seventh.

In the 12th, Ramirez was thrown out at the plate trying to score on Blake's two-out single to end the inning.

"This was just a tough game," Dodgers manager Joe Torre said. "But it was a remarkable game on both sides."

The Cardinals improved to 11-2 against the Dodgers at 4-year-old Busch Stadium and are trying to sweep a four-game series over them for the first time since winning back-to-back doubleheaders July 7 and 8, 1987, in St. Louis.

While St. Louis is trying to win four straight games for the first time since winning five in a row May 19-23, the Dodgers are suddenly slumping.

Los Angeles' high-powered offense has been completely grounded in St. Louis, combining for three total runs in the first three games of this series.

The Dodgers had plenty of opportunities to break out of their slump Wednesday, but left 15 runners on base.

While everything has been going the Cardinals' way in this series, they haven't had much luck with scheduled starter Kyle Lohse (4-6, 4.35 ERA) on the mound lately.

Lohse is just 1-6 with a 5.44 ERA in his last nine starts, with the Cardinals winning just once in that span.

In St. Louis' 14-6 loss to Philadelphia on Saturday, Lohse needed 90 pitches to throw just four innings. The right-hander allowed three runs, four hits and three walks in his third start since missing 4 1/2 weeks with a right forearm strain.

This will be his first start of the season against the Dodgers after going 1-1 with a 2.77 ERA in two starts versus them a year ago.

Los Angeles counters with Hiroki Kuroda (3-5, 4.57), who looks to build on his first quality start in a month.

The right-handed Kuroda gave up three runs and six hits - five singles - with nine strikeouts in six innings of the Dodgers' 4-3 win over Florida on Saturday after going 1-2 with a 6.00 ERA in his previous four outings.

Kuroda, the Dodgers' opening day starter, will make his first appearance versus the Cardinals.