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Astros-Cardinals Preview

Aug 1, 2009 - 5:13 AM By DAN PIERINGER STATS Writer

Houston (51-51) at St. Louis (56-49), 7:10 p.m. EDT

Matt Holliday has exceeded all expectations the St. Louis Cardinals had since they acquired the hard-hitting outfielder last week to stabilize their inconsistent offense.

Despite Holliday's torrid start with his new club, it seems highly likely St. Louis' next game will be a pitchers' duel.

The Cardinals' Chris Carpenter looks to win his fifth straight decision while Houston Astros left-hander Wandy Rodriguez goes for his sixth victory in a row as the NL Central rivals continue a three-game series Saturday night at Busch Stadium.

St. Louis (57-49) acquired Holliday from Oakland on July 24, hoping the three-time All-Star and 2007 NL batting champ would provide some protection for Albert Pujols in the middle of the order.

Holliday has given the Cardinals more than just protection. He's hit safely in each of his first eight games with the team, going 17 for 29 (.586) with one home run, six doubles, eight RBIs and six runs scored.

Holliday's remarkable start continued Friday night, when he delivered a game-tying RBI and scored the go-ahead run in the eighth inning as the Cardinals reclaimed the NL Central lead from the Chicago Cubs with a 4-3 victory over the Astros (51-52) in the series opener.

"I've had some times in my career where I've had a bunch of hits," Holliday said. "You try to just keep thinking about the next day. Come prepared, get ready and hit a couple of balls hard. Adding days up."

Holliday is the first Cardinal to record a base hit in his first eight games with the team since Roger Maris in 1967, and the first since 1954 to reach base safely two or more times in his first eight games.

"You want to have an opportunity to affect the game and try to have good at-bats, that's the goal," Holliday said. "Hopefully every at-bat I have is a competitive one where I'm totally focused and have a game plan and stick to it."

Though Holliday's performance has given the Cardinals every reason to expect more big things, Saturday's matchup looks like it could be a low-scoring affair.

Rodriguez (10-6, 2.65 ERA) has held each of his last five and seven of his last nine opponents to one or no runs. He was 4-0 with a 0.75 ERA in five July starts, ranking second in the majors behind Los Angeles Dodgers left-hander Clayton Kershaw (0.71) in ERA for the month.

Rodriguez had won four straight starts before Monday, when he held the Cubs to one run and six hits in seven innings but the Astros fell 5-1 in 13 innings.

Rodriguez is 3-7 with a 3.82 ERA in 12 career games against the Cardinals, including 1-1 with a 2.77 ERA in two starts this year.

Holliday is 3 for 11 (.273) lifetime against Rodriguez, and each of those hits has been for extra bases. Pujols, though, is 3 for 23 (.130) against Rodriguez, his lowest average against any pitcher he's faced more than 17 times.

Carpenter (9-3, 2.19) has been nearly as effective as Rodriguez lately, coming off a 4-0 July in which he posted a 1.75 ERA over five starts. He held the Dodgers to one run in seven innings of a 6-1 victory Monday.

The right-hander is 5-3 with a 2.87 ERA in 12 regular-season starts against Houston. Astros outfielder Carlos Lee, who's 9 for 25 (.360) over his last six games, is 4 for 27 (.148) with nine strikeouts in his career against Carpenter.

That doesn't bode well for Houston, which has lost six of seven overall and 10 of 12 at Busch Stadium dating to Sept. 22, 2007. The Astros are 0-4 in St. Louis this season.