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Nationals-Cardinals Preview

May 17, 2010 - 2:03 AM By BRETT HUSTON STATS Writer

Washington (20-17) at St. Louis (21-16), 8:15 p.m. EDT

The Washington Nationals have lost three consecutive games, but for a franchise that was baseball's worst last season, it's hard to be too upset about being tied for second place in the division.

To the St. Louis Cardinals, second is foreign territory.

Nine losses in 12 games have knocked the Cardinals from the top of the NL Central for the first time since late July, but they'll hope to get back on track Monday when they look for their seventh straight home win over the Nationals.

St. Louis (21-17) took over first place from the Chicago Cubs on July 31 and never looked back, winning the division by 7 1/2 games.

The Cardinals began 2010 again looking like the class of the Central, but they've stumbled since an 18-8 start. St. Louis has averaged 3.08 runs per game while losing nine of 12, with Sunday's 7-2 loss at Cincinnati pushing the Reds one-half game ahead of the Cardinals atop the division.

"If it had been the last game of the season and we fell out of first place, it would be a big deal," said reigning NL MVP Albert Pujols, hitting .250 with only five RBIs in his last 13 games. "We're in second place. It's better than being in last place. If we were in last place, we'd be concerned."

Perhaps a brief two-game visit from Washington (20-18) will be what Pujols and his teammates need to get their offense turned around. Pujols is hitting .440 with five homers in 16 games against the Nationals since 2007, and has driven in a run in each of the last five meetings.

Pujols has a double in two at-bats against Craig Stammen (1-1, 5.84 ERA), who will try to snap the Nationals' six-game skid at Busch Stadium. Matt Holliday did the major damage in Stammen's lone previous start versus St. Louis, hitting a three-run homer in the Cardinals' 9-4 home win Aug. 29.

Stammen allowed six runs - three earned - over 4 2-3 innings and walked a career-high four in that start, a total he equaled for the first time in his last outing. The right-hander also gave up six hits and four runs Wednesday against the Mets, not getting credit for Washington's 6-4 win.

Stammen helped the Nationals' offense with three RBIs against New York, and they may need more help on Monday. Washington totaled six runs while dropping the final three games of a four-game road set at Colorado, concluding with Sunday's 2-1 loss.

"We had some heartbreaking losses since we've been in Colorado, but we are still playing well," reliever Tyler Clippard told the Nationals' official website. "We have a good outlook on everything that is going on right now."

Washington, which fell to 6-11 when scoring fewer than four runs, may be likely to hit that mark against St. Louis' Kyle Lohse (0-3, 5.68), the lone struggling starter in a rotation that's otherwise a combined 16-9 with a 2.46 ERA.

Lohse allowed nine runs - four earned - and 10 hits over five innings Wednesday in a 9-6 loss to Houston.

"The problem was, when he missed, he missed up," manager Tony La Russa told the Cardinals' official website. "He and (pitching coach Dave Duncan) will go to the drawing board and figure out why. There will be a why there."

Lohse is 2-0 with a 0.75 ERA in his last two starts against Washington - both in 2008 - and may get a break Monday. Slugger Adam Dunn, who leads the Nationals with nine homers, is questionable after missing Sunday's game with flu-like symptoms.