• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Cardinals-Pirates Preview

Aug 7, 2009 - 5:22 AM By MATT BECKER STATS Senior Writer

St. Louis (59-51) at Pittsburgh (45-62), 7:05 p.m. EDT

Chris Carpenter has been one of baseball's best pitchers over the past month, making a second Cy Young Award a distinct possibility.

The Pittsburgh Pirates are probably wondering how he has won the award only once.

Carpenter looks to continue his dominance over the Pirates and help the St. Louis Cardinals continue their pursuit of a division title in the opener of a three-game series Friday night at PNC Park.

Prior to the start of this season, the Cardinals (59-51) weren't sure how effective Carpenter (10-3, 2.10 ERA) would be after shoulder problems limited him to four starts over the past two years. He is proving to still be one of the best pitchers in baseball and has helped keep St. Louis percentage points behind first-place Chicago in the NL Central.

Carpenter leads the majors in ERA and is 5-0 with a 1.60 ERA in his last six starts. The right-hander tossed an eight-hitter for his second complete game of the season in Saturday's 3-1 win over Houston, striking out five and walking none.

"He can carry a team," Matt Holliday told the Cardinals' official Web site. "It's always very difficult to hit him, but it's fun to play behind him. Those hitters, I know what they're dealing with. It's not a fun at-bat."

Just like Holliday, who was traded to St. Louis on July 24, Pittsburgh (45-63) is also aware of how tough it is to face Carpenter.

The 2005 NL Cy Young Award winner made his season debut against the Pirates on April 9 and took a no-hitter into the seventh inning. He ended up allowing one run and one hit with seven strikeouts in seven innings of a 2-1 victory.

That was one of several brilliant performances Carpenter has had against Pittsburgh in his career.

He has a 0.73 ERA in winning his last five starts against the Pirates and is 10-1 with a 2.06 ERA in 12 starts lifetime against them. He has not lost to Pittsburgh since yielding three runs in six innings of a 3-0 defeat on June 29, 2004.

Carpenter isn't the only Cardinal overwhelming the Pirates.

Two-time league MVP Albert Pujols is batting .438 with three home runs and eight RBIs in nine games versus the Pirates this year, with the Cardinals winning five. Pujols, who is 6 for 8 with two home runs, three doubles and five RBIs in his last two games, is also 10 for 19 (.526) with one homer, four doubles and six walks in his career against scheduled starter Paul Maholm (6-6, 4.75 ERA).

Despite Pujols' and Carpenter's impressive numbers against the Pirates, the Cardinals, who are coming off Wednesday's 9-0 loss to the Mets, have lost five of six in Pittsburgh.

They aren't the only team struggling at PNC Park.

The Pirates, losers of 10 of 12 overall, have been outscored 34-16 in losing a season-high five straight home games.

Maholm looks to help Pittsburgh end its slide, while breaking out of a little funk of his own against a St. Louis team he has fared well against.

Maholm is 0-2 with a 7.94 ERA in his last three starts after going 1-0 with a 1.29 ERA in his previous two. The left-hander gave up four runs and seven hits in 6 1-3 innings of a 5-3 loss to Washington on Sunday.

Maholm hasn't faced the Cardinals since the season opener, yielding two runs and seven hits in 6 2-3 innings of a 6-4 win, but did not get a decision. He is 2-0 with a 1.69 ERA in his last three starts versus St. Louis.