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Angels-Cardinals Preview

May 22, 2010 - 5:33 AM By BRETT HUSTON STATS Writer

Los Angeles (20-23) at St. Louis (24-18), 2:15 p.m. EDT

The St. Louis Cardinals' rotation has the NL's lowest ERA, a number that's so impressive due primarily to the work of four starters.

The last thing the rest of the league wants to see is the Cardinals' fifth starter on his way up.

It took Kyle Lohse eight starts to pick up his first victory, but he'll hope to build on that momentum Saturday afternoon against the visiting Los Angeles Angels.

St. Louis (25-18) had the majors' fourth-best ERA (3.66) from its rotation in 2009, but it's off to an even better start thus far. The 2.91 ERA by Cardinals' starters trails only Tampa Bay's 2.61.

Jaime Garcia, Adam Wainwright, Chris Carpenter and Brad Penny all entered the series against the Angels (20-24) with sub-3.00 ERAs, while Lohse (1-3, 5.11 ERA) was the staff's outlier.

For the second straight start, though, Penny struggled in Friday's opener. He hit a third-inning grand slam that led the way to St. Louis' 9-5 win, but on the swing appeared to aggravate an upper-back injury from his previous outing and didn't return.

Penny didn't tell the team how he felt after his last start - when he allowed seven runs in five innings - and that had manager Tony La Russa concerned despite the victory.

"My mood stinks, so you'll have to suffer with me," La Russa told reporters. "I'm definitely worried (about Penny). I'd like to find out."

If Penny misses significant time or continues to struggle, perhaps the Cardinals can begin including Lohse among the quality starters in the rotation. Lohse had struggled to get deep in games and had received little run support, but gave up two runs - one earned - over six innings Monday in a 6-2 win over Washington, his first.

"It feels good," Lohse told the team's official website. "It felt like I could have won a couple other games, but that's the way it goes. It's great to get the first one, even though it is late May."

Lohse is 14-8 with a 3.41 ERA in 35 starts at Busch Stadium since joining the Cardinals in 2008. His numbers against the Angels aren't impressive - 3-2 with a 6.08 ERA in seven outings - but he hasn't faced them since June 13, 2007.

Los Angeles sends another starter who's a work in progress to the mound Saturday. Scott Kazmir (2-4, 6.51) has dropped three consecutive starts with a 7.71 ERA after giving up four runs over seven innings in a 4-3 loss at Texas on Monday.

The left-hander spent the entire previous week working on an over-the-top delivery rather than a three-quarters motion, and while he said it still wasn't there, manager Mike Scioscia saw some progress in Kazmir's longest outing.

"I think there were some things he did well and some things that are still coming," Scioscia told the Angels' official website. "There are some definite positives from Scott's start and we saw glimpses of it. He's certainly not where we hope he's going to get to."

Kazmir's lone start against St. Louis came in 2005 with Tampa Bay. He allowed two runs over four innings, leaving without a decision in a 6-4 loss.

Neither Albert Pujols nor Matt Holliday had a hit Friday, the first time that's happened when both have been in the lineup. The Cardinals are 4-1 since the two flip-flopped the Nos. 3 and 4 spots in the batting order.