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Looper aims to give St. Louis pitching staff a boost

Jul 28, 2008 - 2:42 PM St. Louis (58-49) at Atlanta (49-55) 7:10 pm. EDT

ATLANTA (Ticker) -- The St. Louis Cardinals' patchwork pitching staff is starting to show some cracks.

Braden Looper aims to give the Cardinals a much-needed boost on Monday when he takes the hill in the opener of a four-game series with the Atlanta Braves.

St. Louis has been without its top three pitchers - Chris Carpenter, Mark Mulder and Adam Wainwright - for most of the season.

Carpenter is recovering from "Tommy John" surgery, Mulder's return from shoulder surgery lasted less than one start and Wainwright has been on the disabled list since June 8 with a sprained middle finger.

Despite that, the Cardinals were the National League's biggest surprise in the first half due in large part to an overachieving rotation. However, that group has struggled recently, going 2-3 with a 6.60 ERA in their last 11 contests.

On Sunday, St. Louis' best starter, Kyle Lohse, was roughed up for seven runs in a 9-1 loss to New York.

Looper (9-8, 4.49 ERA) is one of the struggling starters looking to get back on track. The righthander is 0-3 with a 5.55 ERA in his last five starts.

Atlanta squandered a six-run lead on Saturday, and then saw a five-run lead slip away in a 12-10 loss to Philadelphia on Sunday.

The Braves will send Charlie Morton to the hill instead of Jo-Jo Reyes, who threw 2 2/3 innings on Sunday due to a rain delay. Morton (2-3, 6.00) allowed four runs and two hits in 5 2/3 innings of a 4-0 loss to Florida on Tuesday.

Atlanta may be without All-Star catcher Brian McCann, who left Sunday's loss with a mild concussion after a collision at home plate. That is bad news for the Braves, who also are without injured third baseman Chipper Jones (hamstring).