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Reds-Cardinals Preview

Aug 10, 2009 - 1:00 AM By MIKE LIPKA STATS Writer

Cincinnati (47-62) at St. Louis (61-51), 8:15 p.m. EDT

After increasing their NL Central lead with a weekend sweep, the St. Louis Cardinals hope to continue strengthening their hold on first place during a six-game homestand against weaker opponents.

They'll start the stretch Monday night with the first of three against the Cincinnati Reds, with St. Louis' Kyle Lohse and Cincinnati's Johnny Cueto looking to end their recent struggles.

The Cardinals (62-51) took three straight from last-place Pittsburgh to extend their division lead to two games over Chicago, and their schedule doesn't get much tougher this week.

Cincinnati and San Diego, the two opponents on their homestand, are a combined 33 games under .500.

"We need to win every game," utility man Skip Schumaker told the Cardinals' official Web site. "We're in a pennant race, and we feel like we have the pitching and the offense to do it now."

Schumaker's pinch-hit home run sparked a five-run rally in the eighth inning Sunday as St. Louis beat the Pirates 7-3 to complete the sweep.

Matt Holliday added two hits to boost his average to .466 since joining the Cardinals, while Albert Pujols reached base three times. Pujols has broken out of a rare slump by batting .550 with eight RBIs in his last five games.

That's not good news for Cueto (8-9, 4.23 ERA), who is looking to recover from a series of subpar outings. The poor stretch started when he allowed nine runs and lasted two-thirds of an inning at Philadelphia in a 22-1 loss July 6.

The right-hander went 0-5 with a 9.85 ERA in his last six starts. He lost 6-3 to the Cubs on Tuesday, giving up five runs in 5 2-3 innings.

"It's just a tough situation," Cueto said. "We're not scoring many runs, and you feel like you need to be perfect. Maybe I'm trying to do too much. Physically, I felt good. It's bad luck for the whole team."

Lohse (4-7, 4.56) has also been scuffling. He has gone 0-3 with a 5.84 ERA in five starts since a stint on the disabled list, with the worst of those outings coming Wednesday at New York.

Lohse allowed five runs in 2 2-3 innings of a 9-0 defeat. The right-hander hasn't won since May 23 and is 1-7 with a 6.24 ERA since the beginning of that month.

Both pitchers will also have to overcome rocky histories against their respective opponent. Cueto has beaten the Cardinals twice this year but has a 6.30 ERA in four career starts against them. Lohse has one win and a 5.74 ERA in five starts versus Cincinnati.

The Reds (48-62) lost eight straight and 14 of 15 through last Tuesday, but closed their series against the Cubs with a victory before taking two of three at San Francisco over the weekend.

That gave Cincinnati its first road series win since June 26-28 against Cleveland. The club went 2-11 away from home in July.

St. Louis' Mark DeRosa may not be available Monday after being scratched Sunday due to a tight back. The Reds will be without third baseman Scott Rolen as he continues to deal with concussion-like symptoms after getting hit in the head by a pitch.