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Cardinals-Padres Preview

May 26, 2010 - 6:17 AM By BRETT HUSTON STATS Writer

St. Louis (26-20) at San Diego (27-18), 10:05 p.m. EDT

Albert Pujols appeared to break out of his slump in the Cardinals' series opener against the San Diego Padres, but little else went right offensively for St. Louis.

With the NL's top two pitching staffs opposing each other, runs could be scarce again Wednesday night when standout rookie Jaime Garcia looks to help the Cardinals bounce back and prevent the West-leading Padres from a fourth straight victory.

With San Diego owning a 2.92 ERA and St. Louis (3.03) right behind, runs figured to be at a premium this week in spacious Petco Park with the Cardinals (26-20) visiting for three games.

That was certainly the case in Tuesday's opener. Pujols broke out of a 3-for-20 slump with three hits, but Jerry Hairston's second-inning homer gave San Diego (27-18) all the offense it needed to win 1-0. Adam Wainwright was the tough-luck loser for the Cardinals after striking out 12 over seven innings.

"We knew that he was going to be tough to hit," Hairston said. "We knew that we'd have to scratch and claw for runs. In this ballpark, it's tough to hit."

Garcia (4-2, 1.28 ERA) will seek a better fate than Wainwright as he looks to become the first Cardinals starter in five games to win.

The 23-year-old left-hander has the second-lowest ERA in the majors to go with a .203 opponent batting average, taking his place alongside Wainwright and Chris Carpenter in one of baseball's top rotations.

Garcia had some control issues last Wednesday against Florida, walking four, but still pitched five scoreless innings before a rough night from the bullpen led to a 5-1 loss.

"Yeah, I was a little bit off," said Garcia, who failed to pitch through the sixth for the first time in 2010. "I couldn't find my rhythm, but I was able to make good pitches when I needed them in tough situations. ... I tried not to give up and tried to keep working hard, but I was definitely a little bit off today."

Garcia's lone major league start prior to this season came July 20, 2008, at home against San Diego. He allowed three runs over five innings, but didn't get a decision in the Cardinals' 9-5 win.

Jon Garland shut St. Louis down for seven innings Tuesday, but a similarly lengthy outing from Kevin Correia (4-4, 4.57) seems unlikely Wednesday for San Diego. Correia has lasted between five and six innings in all eight starts, and he's lost three in a row.

The right-hander gave up four runs over seven innings Thursday in a 4-1 defeat at Los Angeles.

Correia's lone start against St. Louis since joining the Padres didn't go well. He allowed five runs and 10 hits - including homers to Matt Holliday and Colby Rasmus - over 5 2-3 innings of a 7-0 home loss Aug. 22.

Holliday and Pujols are a combined 11 for 33 with five extra-base hits against Correia.

While the Cardinals are hopeful Monday's performance will help Pujols begin a hot streak, San Diego would love to see its own star first baseman correct his struggles at home. Adrian Gonzalez struck out in all four at-bats Tuesday, dropping his average at Petco to .156 over his last nine games.