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Angels-Cardinals Preview

May 21, 2010 - 5:20 AM By MIKE LIPKA STATS Writer

Los Angeles (19-23) at St. Louis (23-18), 8:15 p.m. EDT

After dealing with injuries and inconsistency around the time he turned 30, Joel Pineiro had a mid-career renaissance while winning 15 games last season with the St. Louis Cardinals.

Brad Penny is trying to steal Pineiro's script.

Now pitching for the Los Angeles Angels, Pineiro will kick off interleague play by facing his former team Friday night in St. Louis, where Penny looks to bounce back from his worst start of 2010.

Pineiro (3-4, 3.71 ERA) had a 5.15 ERA while limited to 25 starts due to injuries in 2008, but he went 15-12 with a 3.49 ERA and helped the Cardinals win the NL Central last year, earning a two-year, $16 million deal with the Angels.

He's been living up to that contract lately, tossing 15 1-3 shutout innings in his last two starts. Pineiro pitched a four-hitter in a 4-0 win over Oakland on Sunday for his first shutout with the Angels.

"I was getting ahead in the count and was able to get a lot of groundball outs," Pineiro said. "Everybody knows the sinker is my pitch. So if I keep it down, hopefully it's going to get good results."

Penny, like Pineiro a 31-year-old, made an unsuccessful foray into the AL last year, posting a 5.61 ERA in 24 starts with Boston after his 2008 season had been cut short by shoulder problems.

He finished the year by pitching well for San Francisco, however, then signed with St. Louis. Although he has lost four straight outings, Penny (3-4, 2.73) began the year with seven consecutive quality starts before allowing seven runs and 13 hits in five innings of a 7-2 loss at Cincinnati on Sunday.

"I've got to do a better job of keeping my team in the game," Penny told the Cardinals' official website. "A couple hits that were just placed perfect, on top of the bad pitches I made. They just took advantage of everything."

St. Louis (24-18) has steadied by winning three of its last four, retaking first place in the Central from the Reds after Thursday's 4-2 win over Florida. Matt Holliday doubled twice and drove in two runs, ending a six-game stretch without an RBI.

Holliday has only 16 RBIs after driving in 55 runs in 63 games with the Cardinals last year.

"I've said it a number of times, I think Matt's biggest problem is trying too hard, trying to force things," manager Tony La Russa said. "He looked a little more relaxed, a little more like himself."

The Cardinals, who have struggled at times offensively but have a 2.84 team ERA, hope interleague play will help ignite Albert Pujols, who has no RBIs in his last six games. Pujols' .355 career average in interleague games is among the best all-time with at least 150 at-bats.

Last year, Pujols had nine homers and 19 RBIs in 15 games against AL foes, helping the Cardinals go 9-6.

The Angels (20-23) were a major league-best 14-4 in interleague play last season en route to a third straight AL West title, but they're in third place in the division as they try to bounce back from a sluggish start.

Los Angeles may be on the upswing after winning five of its last seven, including Thursday night's 6-5 victory over the White Sox.

"We've been struggling to get guys on and make things happen," manager Mike Scioscia said. "Tonight we did."

These teams have split six previous meetings, all in St. Louis.