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Carpenter takes hill for Cards in second test with O's

Jun 29, 2011 - 2:49 PM (Sports Network) - Chris Carpenter hopes to put a miserable first half of the season behind him this evening when the St. Louis Cardinals continue a three- game interleague set with the Baltimore Orioles at Camden Yards.

With Adam Wainwright sidelined for the entire season recovering from Tommy John surgery, big things were expected from Carpenter, but the former National League Cy Young Award winner has yet to respond, posting a 2-7 mark with a 4.26 earned run average.

Carpenter did look like the pitcher the Cards had hoped for his last time out on Thursday against Philadelphia, as he held the Phillies to a run and five hits in seven innings.

"It's nice to win a ballgame," Carpenter said. "Fortunately I pitched well enough and we got some really nice hits, some key hits, and then late in the game broke it open. It was nice."

The win was Carpenter's first since may 10, snapping a five-decision losing streak.

"He's had a rough stretch, but we always feel like he's our most dominant pitcher," Skip Schumaker said.

He has faced the Orioles 15 times (14 starts) and is 7-4 against them with a 5.10 ERA.

The Cards will be trying to make it two straight wins tonight after winning Tuesday's opener, as Matt Holliday and Colby Rasmus belted solo home runs to lead St. Louis to a 6-2 victory. Nick Punto added a pair of hits, including an RBI single, while David Freese also had a pair of hits for the Cardinals, who snapped a three-game losing streak.

Kyle Lohse (8-4) worked five innings to pick up the win, yielding four hits while fanning two and walking one. He didn't pitch after a 27-minute rain delay.

"I felt strong, I wished that rain wouldn't have come in," Lohse said. "I felt I could have gotten quite a bit deeper than just five. You can't do anything about the weather, so the rest of the guys came in and did a good job."

J.J. Hardy smacked a solo home run and Nick Markakis chipped in a pair of hits for the Orioles, who have lost four of their last six games and six of 10.

Zach Britton (6-6) worked 5 2/3 innings in defeat for Baltimore, giving up four runs on seven hits.

"It was more of a case of us not doing anything offensively," Orioles manager Buck Showalter said of his starter's performance. "It's a process for him, he's doing some things real well and there's some things he'll do better at as he goes forward."

Tonight, Baltimore will hand the ball to right-hander Chris Jakubauskas, who is 2-0 with a 5.18 ERA. Jakubauskas did not get a decision on Friday against Cincinnati, as he allowed three runs and five hits in five innings of a 5-4 win.

This will be his first-ever appearance against the Cardinals.