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Converted starters face off in St. Louis

May 26, 2007 - 2:10 PM Washington (20-29) at St Louis (19-26), 7:15 pm EDT

ST. LOUIS (Ticker) -- A pair of relievers turned starters will face off when the St. Louis Cardinals host the Washington Nationals on Saturday.

Brad Thompson (2-1, 4.67 ERA) makes his fourth start for the Cardinals after moving from the bullpen to the starting rotation this month. The 25-year-old righthander is 1-1 with a 4.67 ERA as a starter this season. Thompson has held the Nationals scoreless in five career relief appearances spanning 7 1/3 innings.

Nationals rookie Levale Speigner (1-0, 6.33) makes his third start after making eighth appearances out of the Washington bullpen to begin the season. Over his first two starts, the righthander has not picked up a decision and has an 11.57 ERA. Speigner has not pitched more than four innings in a game this season.

The Nationals won the first game of this series, 5-4, on Friday and continue to play their best baseball of the season. Washington has won four in a row and 11 of 15 after winning just nine of their first 34 games.

In his last nine games, Washington's Dmitri Young is batting .578 (15-for-26) with a home run and eight RBI.

Cardinals Albert Pujols hit his eighth home run of the season in Friday's loss. The slugger had 23 home runs through May 25 last season.