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Dodgers-Cardinals Preview

Jul 15, 2010 - 12:32 AM By MATT BECKER STATS Senior Writer

Los Angeles (49-39) at St. Louis (47-41), 8:15 p.m. EDT

The St. Louis Cardinals stumbled into the All-Star break, and staff ace Chris Carpenter is suddenly slumping.

While a start against the Los Angeles Dodgers might be enough to help get Carpenter back on track, it could spell trouble for his team.

In the opener of a four-game series Thursday night at Busch Stadium, Carpenter tries to continue his dominance of a Los Angeles team that has given the Cardinals fits lately.

St. Louis (47-41) got off to an 18-9 start, but has gone 29-33 since to fall one game back of NL Central-leading Cincinnati. The Cardinals entered the break losers of four of six and are 4-7 since June 30.

The slide has come despite the fact Albert Pujols has five homers and 12 RBIs in his last 12 games, and Matt Holliday has five home runs and 12 RBIs in his last six.

While the Cardinals are getting plenty of production from those two All-Stars, Carpenter (9-3, 3.29 ERA) has been slumping.

After posting a 2.70 ERA while losing just once in his first 17 starts, Carpenter has yielded 12 runs over nine innings while losing his last two. Last Thursday against Colorado, the right-hander gave up four runs and nine hits in six innings of a 4-2 loss. He has not lost three consecutive starts in a single season since dropping four in a row July 29-Aug. 13, 2002, while with Toronto.

"I've got to make better pitches," Carpenter said. "Mechanically, I'm not there. I'm not where I need to be. Bottom line I have to get better."

The three-time All-Star has rarely been better than when he's faced Los Angeles.

Carpenter is 5-0 with a 1.88 ERA in seven starts against the Dodgers, and 2-0 with a 0.43 ERA in three outings against them at St. Louis' new Busch Stadium. At Dodger Stadium on June 8, Carpenter allowed six hits in seven shutout innings, but the Cardinals went on to lose 1-0.

Los Angeles (49-39) swept that three-game series at Chavez Ravine and also swept St. Louis in last season's NLDS, giving the Dodgers six consecutive wins in meetings between these clubs.

The Dodgers, two games behind first-place San Diego in the NL West, outscored the Cardinals 17-7 in the June series, as Blake DeWitt had seven RBIs and Manny Ramirez added three.

Ramirez, who has not played since June 29 due to a strained right hamstring, is eligible to come off the disabled list for this game, but it is uncertain if he'll be activated.

Andre Ethier has carried the Dodgers' offense in Ramirez's absence. The first-time All-Star is batting .390 with two home runs and seven RBIs in 10 games this month.

Los Angeles' pitching staff is being led by Thursday's probable starter Clayton Kershaw (9-4, 2.96), who has yielded two runs or fewer in nine of his last 12 starts.

The left-hander gave up two runs and seven hits with a season-high 12 strikeouts - one off his career best - in eight innings of last Thursday's 3-2 win over the Cubs, while not walking a batter for the second time in his career.

"He's always learning something. That's the best compliment I could pay this kid," manager Joe Torre said. "He's able to throw more than one pitch for a strike. He's got a lot of weapons out there."

Kershaw, tied for second in the NL with 128 strikeouts, allowed three runs and four hits while striking out 10 in seven innings of a 4-3 win over St. Louis on June 9. He is 2-0 with a 2.27 ERA in five career starts versus the Cardinals, and 1-0 with a 0.60 ERA in two outings at St. Louis.