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Lohse targets win No. 9 at the Trop

Jul 3, 2011 - 2:41 PM (Sports Network) - Kyle Lohse shoots for win No. 9 this afternoon when the St. Louis Cardinals play the rubber match of a three-game interleague series against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field.

With Adam Wainwright sidelined for the year recovering from Tommy John surgery and Chris Carpenter struggling for the better part of the season, Lohse has been a pleasant surprise for Tony La Russa's club, going 8-4 with a 2.78 earned run average.

Lohse, who is 6-1 on the road, had been winless in his last four starts before throwing five scoreless innings to beat the Baltimore Orioles in a rain- shortened effort on Tuesday.

"I felt strong. I wish the rain didn't come," Lohse said after throwing just 69 pitches. "I felt I could have gone quite a bit deeper than five. But you can't do anything about the weather."

He is 5-2 lifetime versus the Rays with a 2.58 ERA in 10 games (nine starts).

Tampa, meanwhile, will hand the ball to rookie Jeremy Hellickson, who has lost his last four starts. Hellickson's latest defeat came on Monday against Cincinnati, which reached him four runs (three earned) and eight hits in six innings, dropping him to 7-7 to go along with a 3.18 ERA.

The Rays, though, have managed just one run during Hellickson's slide.

"It's nice to get runs early, obviously," Hellickson said. "But when you don't, it's not really something you can control. It's not really something I think about."

This will be his first-ever start against the Cards.

Tampa evened this series at a game apiece on Saturday, as Casey Kotchman hit a three-run double in the midst of a five-run sixth inning, helping the Rays to a 5-1 win.

Jeff Niemann (3-4) tossed six-plus innings, allowing one run on nine hits and a walk while fanning five, as the Rays posted their sixth win in nine games.

Johnny Damon finished 4-for-4 and his single in the first inning was the 2,655th hit of his career, moving him ahead of Ted Williams into sole possession of 71st on the all-time hit list.

Kyle McClellan (6-5) was tagged for five runs, all in the sixth, on eight hits and two walks in 5 2/3 frames.

Lance Berkman homered for the Cardinals' lone run as they saw their four-game win streak stopped.

Despite Saturday's setback, the Cardinals have dominated this matchup, winning six of the eight all-time meetings.