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Cardinals look for second straight win in opener vs. Brewers

Sep 28, 2006 - 1:13 PM Milwaukee (85-73) at St Louis (81-76) 8:10 pm EDT

ST. LOUIS (Ticker) - The St. Louis Cardinals can breathe a little easier, but not much.

The Cardinals look for a second straight victory when they open a four-game series with the Milwaukee Brewers on Thursday.

St. Louis snapped a seven-game losing streak with a 4-2 victory over the San Diego Padres on Wednesday. Albert Pujols belted a go-ahead three-run homer in the eighth inning to keep St. Louis 1 1/2 ahead of the Houston Astros in the National League Central Division

The Cardinals give the ball to Jason Marquis (14-15, 5.80 ERA), who is 0-3 in his last four starts with a 5.31 ERA.

Marquis has started twice against the Brewers this season, going 1-1 with a 3.75 ERA. In his last start against Milwaukee, the righthander did not get a decision after allowing two runs and six hits in five innings of a 4-3 loss on June 10.

The Brewers counter with Doug Davis (10-11, 5.02), who is 0-2 in his last three starts and has had trouble stringing together consecutive quality starts.

Davis pitched pretty well against the Washington Nationals on September 17, allowing two runs and three hits in seven innings of a 6-1 defeat. But the lefthander struggled in his next outing, giving up seven runs - six earned - in five innings despite not getting a decision in a 13-12 loss to the San Francisco Giants on Friday.