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St. Louis looks for boost in debut by Maroth

Jun 25, 2007 - 2:02 PM St. Louis (33-39) at NY Mets (41-32) 7:10 pm EDT

FLUSHING, New York (Ticker) -- Hoping a recent trade can solidify their injured rotation, the St. Louis Cardinals head to Shea Stadium to meet the New York Mets in the first game of a four-game set on Monday.

In response to seeing three starters on the disabled list, the Cardinals on Friday acquired Mike Maroth from the Detroit Tigers. Having been without Mark Mulder and ace Chris Carpenter for some time, the St. Louis rotation took another hit last Monday when converted reliever Braden Looper was put on the disabled list with a right shoulder strain.

Maroth (NR) is no stranger to injury himself after missing all but 13 games last season after having surgery to remove bone chips in his left elbow. Healthy this time around, Maroth went 5-2 with a 5.06 ERA in 13 starts with the Tigers.

This will be the 29-year-old's first appearance against the Mets, who will be hosting the Cardinals for the first time since Game Seven of the National League Championship Series. The lefthander surrendered five runs - four earned - and six hits in his last start for Detroit, a 9-8 victory over the Washington Nationals last Monday.

The Mets will counter with ex-Cardinal Jorge Sosa (6-3, 4.05 ERA), who will attempt to bounce back from a pair of poor outings.

After winning six of his first seven starts, Sosa has given up 13 runs - 11 earned - and 16 hits over his last two starts, including a 9-0 loss to the Minnesota Twins on Tuesday.

The Mets turned around their recent struggles by wrapping up a sweep of the Oakland Athletics with a 10-2 win on Sunday. Prior to this past weekend, New York had lost 13 of their previous 16 games.