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Cubs-Cardinals Preview

Sep 18, 2009 - 12:00 AM By MIKE LIPKA STATS Writer

Chicago (75-69) at St. Louis (85-62), 8:15 p.m. EDT

The St. Louis Cardinals are suddenly struggling offensively, but even a 1-5 start to their homestand wasn't enough to inject some drama into a mid-September series with the Chicago Cubs.

The Cardinals still hold a nine-game lead on their arch-rivals going into Friday's opener of a three-game set at Busch Stadium, and they'll have a chance to all but officially dethrone the Cubs in the NL Central.

St. Louis' recent swoon is surprising considering the team had been 32-11 in its first 43 games after acquiring Matt Holliday from Oakland on July 24.

The Cardinals' powerful offense, with likely NL MVP Albert Pujols and Holliday at its heart, has been inconsistent this week, scoring two or fewer runs in four of the last six games. St. Louis hitters went 1 for 13 with men in scoring position and stranded 11 runners in a 5-2 loss to Florida on Wednesday, but manager Tony La Russa isn't about to panic.

"I'm not worried at all about our offense," he said. "Good pitching stops good hitting. I really like this club we have."

A comfortable cushion atop the division has certainly helped lower the manager's stress, and the Cardinals (85-62) saw their magic number drop to eight with the Cubs' 7-4 loss to Milwaukee on Thursday.

"Every series you play when you're trying to get to the finish line is a chance to knock numbers off," La Russa told the Cardinals' official Web site. "The difference is that you win a game (against the Cubs), you knock two off."

Chicago needs a sweep to even think about making a late push, and the Cubs (75-70) have lined up arguably their three best pitchers for this series.

Ted Lilly (12-8, 3.05 ERA) will start the opener, looking to win his fourth straight start. He has a 1.37 ERA in six outings since coming off the disabled list last month, and tossed six shutout innings in a 5-2 win over Cincinnati on Sunday.

"Typical Ted," catcher Koyie Hill said. "You know what he's going to do: locate, change speeds, keep them off-balance. That's why he wins so often."

The left-hander has almost always been strong against St. Louis, going 7-3 with a 2.89 ERA in 13 career starts.

He'll be opposed by John Smoltz, who will pitch for the first time since Sept. 8 after missing a turn in the rotation with a shoulder issue.

The 42-year-old Smoltz (1-1, 3.27) made a comeback from shoulder surgery this year and was released by Boston after putting up an 8.33 ERA in eight starts, but the former Atlanta star has looked comfortable back in the NL, striking out 28 and walking one over 22 innings in his first four starts with St. Louis.

"You play mental games more than anything else and I'm used to those," Smoltz said. "'Oh, I haven't picked up a ball in nine days, How am I going to be?' I'm not like that. I just think I'm going to be like where I left off."

Smoltz will be getting his first taste of a classic rivalry for the second time this season. The first one didn't go so well - he gave up eight runs in 3 1-3 innings of a 13-6 loss at Yankee Stadium on Aug. 6 in what turned out to be his final start for the Red Sox.

The Cubs and Cardinals haven't met since before the All-Star break, with St. Louis holding an 8-5 edge in the season series. Chicago is 1-5 at Busch Stadium this year, and scored a total of two runs while suffering a three-game sweep in its most recent visit May 19-21.