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Cardinals-Diamondbacks Preview

Apr 19, 2010 - 5:13 AM By NICOLINO DIBENEDETTO STATS Writer

St. Louis (7-4) at Arizona (5-6), 9:40 p.m. EDT

Replacing their No. 3 starter was supposed to be a major worry for the St. Louis Cardinals. Brad Penny is quelling those early concerns, and a start against the struggling Arizona Diamondbacks may keep him rolling.

Penny looks to continue his superb start for the Cardinals on Monday night when they open a three-game series against the Diamondbacks at Chase Field.

The Cardinals (8-4) comfortably won the NL Central last year as Joel Pineiro provided 15 wins and a 3.49 ERA as their third starter behind ace Chris Carpenter and Adam Wainwright. Pineiro parlayed that impressive season into a two-year, $16 million contract with the Los Angeles Angels in February.

St. Louis prepared for Pineiro's departure two months prior by signing Penny - also a right-hander - to a one-year deal.

Penny (1-0, 0.64 ERA), who has been injury-plagued throughout his 10-year career, was coming off a solid stint with San Francisco, going 4-1 with a 2.59 ERA in six starts after struggling in 24 outings with Boston, posting a 7-8 mark and 5.61 ERA.

He's now proving to be an excellent replacement for Pineiro.

Penny turned in another outstanding performance Wednesday, allowing one unearned run and three hits in seven innings of a 2-1 win.

"When he's healthy, he's lights-out," reliever Ryan Franklin told the team's official website. "He's going to be 93 to 97, 98 (mph), painting his fastball. The split that he's got now is filthy, and he can throw his curveball for strikes at any time."

Penny has also dominated the Diamondbacks (5-7), going 9-3 with a 1.96 ERA in 17 starts. He threw a six-hitter in his last start against them Sept. 30, allowing one unearned run in a 4-1 win with the Giants.

The Cardinals won four of six against Arizona last season, taking two of three at Chase Field from April 13-15.

St. Louis is entering this series with some momentum after erasing a three-run, fifth-inning deficit by rallying to a 5-3 win over the New York Mets. Wainwright also provided some relief for the taxed bullpen by throwing a four-hitter one night after the Cardinals lost 2-1 in a 20-inning marathon that saw La Russa use two position players on the mound.

The Diamondbacks are trying to avoid their first five-game losing streak since dropping six in a row from Sept. 3-8. They fell again Sunday, losing 5-3 at San Diego as relievers Aaron Heilman and Juan Gutierrez wasted a two-run lead by giving up all the scoring in the seventh inning.

Arizona's bullpen has a 14.34 ERA during the four-game slide, raising its season mark to 6.93.

"It takes 27 outs, not 21, not 24," manager A.J. Hinch said. "It's no fun down there right now. It's going to take some resilience from us to get through this."

Hinch will turn to Rodrigo Lopez (1-0, 4.09) in the hopes that he can rebound from a rough outing. The right-hander yielded five runs and 11 hits, including a homer, in five innings of Wednesday's 9-7, 11-inning win over the Los Angeles Dodgers - the Diamondbacks' last victory.

He was much more effective in his season debut April 9, when he allowed one run in six innings of a 9-1 home win over Pittsburgh.

Lopez has won his last two starts against St. Louis behind a 4.50 ERA.