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Cardinals-Padres Preview

Aug 21, 2009 - 6:31 AM By ANTHONY GIORNALISTA STATS Senior Writer

St. Louis (70-53) at San Diego (51-72), 10:05 p.m. EDT

The St. Louis Cardinals have gotten very few bad outings from their starters in recent weeks. Kyle Lohse's effort against the San Diego Padres last weekend was one of those rare occasions.

Lohse looks to end his road woes and bounce back from a poor start against the Padres as he takes the mound for the Cardinals on Friday night.

St. Louis (70-53) opened this four-game series with yet another impressive performance, getting a strong start from Joel Pineiro in a 5-1 win over San Diego (51-72) on Thursday night.

The Cardinals have won 17 of their last 22 games, improving to 17 games over .500 for the first time since finishing the 2005 season 100-62.

"We're playing well, just keep pushing," St. Louis manager Tony La Russa said.

Outstanding pitching continues to lead St. Louis' second-half surge. Cardinals starters have a 3.31 ERA over their last 22 games, surrendering 13 homers in 204 innings during that span.

Lohse (5-7, 4.58 ERA), though, struggled against the Padres in his last outing, allowing five runs and nine hits in 5 1-3 innings of a 7-5 Cardinals win Sunday. He is 1-2 with a 6.18 ERA in five starts versus San Diego.

The veteran right-hander may have a tough time solving the Padres away from Busch Stadium. He's 0-4 with a 6.56 ERA in seven road starts this year.

San Diego will counter with Clayton Richard (2-0, 4.71), who matched up with Lohse in his last start, his fourth with the Padres. The left-hander, who was making his first career appearance against the Cardinals, walked a season-high six and gave up three runs in 3 2-3 innings.

Richard went 3-0 with a 3.16 ERA in his previous six outings, three coming as a member of the Chicago White Sox.

He'll face a St. Louis lineup that didn't need a big game from slugger Albert Pujols on Thursday. While Pujols went 0 for 4, Brendan Ryan hit his first career grand slam to lead the Cardinals.

It was the second homer of the season for the shortstop, hitting .373 over his last 17 games.

Pujols, meanwhile, is 0 for 9 in three contests following a 12-game hitting streak. The first baseman, who leads the majors with 39 home runs, is 3 for 15 in four games against the Padres this season.

Still, St. Louis managed to hit .336 while averaging 7.0 runs in winning all of those contests.

San Diego has been held to one run in each of its last two games, losing both after winning five of its previous six at home. The Padres have dropped six of eight overall.

Rookie Kyle Blanks has been hot for San Diego, homering in three of his last four games. The first baseman is hitting .353 with six RBIs in his last nine contests.

Everth Cabrera, another Padres rookie, has given the team a spark on the basepaths but was thrown out trying to steal second in the third inning Thursday. It was the third unsuccessful attempt for Cabrera, who has 18 stolen bases while ranking among the NL's leaders in stolen base percentage.