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Cardinals eye new franchise mark

Apr 30, 2008 - 12:15 PM Cincinnati (12-16) at St. Louis (17-11) 1:15 pm EDT

ST. LOUIS (Ticker) - Little was expected of the St. Louis Cardinals entering the season. Instead of listening to the critics, they are on the verge of making franchise history.

The Cardinals seek their 18th win in April when they host the Cincinnati Reds in the rubber game of a three-game set on Wednesday.

St. Louis matched a franchise record on Wednesday with a 7-2 win over Cincinnati, giving the team its 17th win in April and tying the mark of the 2006 Cardinals - a club that eventually claimed the club's 10th World Series title.

St. Louis will turn to starter Braden Looper (3-1, 4.05 ERA), who will be looking to build upon one of the best starts of his career on Friday.

Despite not factoring into the decision, he allowed just two hits over seven scoreless frames before the bullpen imploded late in a 3-2 loss to Houston.

The 33-year-old righthander went 1-0 with a 0.64 ERA in two starts against Cincinnati last season.

The Reds will counter with ace Aaron Harang (1-3, 2.76), who hopes to continue his run of strong starts. He has allowed two earned runs or less in five of his six outings, but has received just one run of support combined over his last two outings.

The righthander surrendered three runs - two earned - and eight hits while striking out eight over 7 1/3 innings in Cincinnati's 3-1 loss to San Francisco on Friday.