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Cardinals-Reds Preview

Apr 8, 2010 - 3:55 AM By ANDY LEFKOWITZ STATS Editor

St. Louis (1-0) at Cincinnati (0-1), 12:35 p.m. EDT

Tony La Russa has coveted Brad Penny's skills from afar for several years. Now that the St. Louis Cardinals manager finally has the right-hander on the roster, he hopes Penny can be a solid addition behind Chris Carpenter and Adam Wainwright.

Penny will make his St. Louis debut Thursday when the Cardinals wrap up their season-opening series with the Cincinnati Reds.

Penny, who helped Florida win the 2003 World Series, went 11-9 with a 4.88 ERA in 30 starts with Boston and San Francisco last year. He's on a one-year deal and is expected to help fill the void left behind when starters Joel Pineiro, John Smoltz and Todd Wellemeyer were lost to free agency.

La Russa first took notice of Penny seven years ago when the Marlins and Cardinals began sharing a spring training facility in Florida.

"Whenever a guy faces you and you're not happy when he gets announced, you always think, 'Boy, it would be nice to get him on your side,'" La Russa said in December. "He's a guy that we thought would be a real good starter for our side."

Penny won a career-high 16 games with the Dodgers in 2006 and 2007, and was named an All-Star in both seasons. However, he was hampered by shoulder trouble in 2008, posting a career-worst 6.27 ERA in 19 games with Los Angeles.

Penny continued to struggle for much of last season with Boston, going 7-8 with a 5.61 ERA before being released in August.

After joining the Giants for the stretch run, though, the 31-year-old Penny reverted to his All-Star form, going 4-1 with a 2.59 ERA in six starts. An Oklahoma native, Penny told the Cardinals' official Web site that he's fulfilling a dream by joining St. Louis.

"I've always wanted to play here," Penny said. "It was my favorite team growing up."

Penny will try to help St. Louis get off to its first 3-0 start since winning the World Series in 2006. Carpenter beat Cincinnati on Monday, and Wainwright - the NL leader with 19 wins in 2009 - followed by allowing two runs and three hits over seven innings of a 6-3 victory Wednesday.

Albert Pujols, the reigning two-time NL MVP who had two homers and four hits in the opener, singled to snap a 2-2 tie, and Matt Holliday followed with a two-run double as the Cardinals scored four times in the seventh.

"Adam was pitching so well ... As an offense, you're looking to get him the lead back. When he's pitching like that, he doesn't need a lot," Holliday said.

Orlando Cabrera provided all the Reds' offense with a two-run homer and RBI double. Cincinnati's new shortstop had been hitless in five at-bats coming in.

The Reds are trying to avoid their first 0-3 start since 2003 and will go with Bronson Arroyo (15-13, 3.84), their top pitcher from 2009.

Arroyo led the club in wins, and his ERA was the best in the rotation. Perhaps the most amazing thing about Arroyo's success was that it came while dealing with carpal tunnel syndrome that has nagged him for years - he pitched a team-high 220 1-3 innings after the condition flared up during spring training.

The right-hander was 1-4 with a 5.70 ERA in six starts this spring.

Arroyo was 1-1 with a 4.05 ERA in two starts against St. Louis last season. He's 4-3 with a 3.11 ERA in 10 career starts versus the Cardinals.

Pujols is hitting .327 with five doubles, three homers and 11 RBIs against Arroyo.