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Cubs-Cardinals Preview

May 21, 2009 - 5:36 AM By MATT BECKER STATS Senior Writer

Chicago (21-16) at St. Louis (22-17), 8:15 p.m. EDT

In winning the last two NL Central division titles, the Chicago Cubs had little trouble beating the archrival Cardinals in St. Louis.

That has not been the case this season.

After being shut down in the first two games of the series, the Cubs look to avoid being swept by the Cardinals for the first time in more than two years in Thursday night's finale.

Chicago (21-17) arrived in St. Louis (23-17) winners of 11 of 15, while averaging 5.7 runs in those games. It's had virtually no offense against the Cardinals, though.

The Cubs managed just three hits in Tuesday's 3-0 loss and in Wednesday' 2-1 defeat, they didn't score until pinch-hitter Micah Hoffpauir's two-out RBI single in the ninth.

"Let's not blow it out of proportion," Derrek Lee told the Cubs' official Web site. "It's two games. (Chris) Carpenter, that's the nastiest pitcher I've faced all year. No excuses, we're professionals, we have to score, but let's not blow it out of proportion."

The Cubs have lost four of five in St. Louis in 2009 after winning 12 of 18 at Busch Stadium the previous two seasons. Chicago has not been swept by the Cardinals since Aug. 25-27, 2006.

Carpenter came off the disabled list and gave up three hits in five scoreless innings, his first outing since he strained a left rib-cage muscle April 14 at Arizona.

The Cubs will likely have trouble getting their offense on track in the series finale versus Adam Wainwright (3-2, 3.83 ERA), who is coming off one of the best starts of his career.

In a pitchers' duel with Milwaukee's Jeff Suppan on Saturday, Wainwright allowed one run, two hits and two walks with seven strikeouts in a tough-luck, 1-0 loss.

Wainwright, who had yielded 11 runs and 16 hits in 12 innings over his previous two starts, fine-tuned his arm slot prior to the outing against the Brewers, pinpointing it as the source of those subpar outings.

"It was a lot better," the right-hander said. "I definitely felt more in control of my body, my arm slot, everything."

Wainwright is 1-0 with a 3.46 ERA in two starts against Chicago this season, with the Cardinals winning each. He's still seeking his first win versus the Cubs at Busch Stadium, where he's 0-3 with a 4.85 ERA in five starts.

Chris Duncan snapped a 1-for-21 slump with two hits and an RBI on Wednesday for the Cardinals, who have won two in a row after losing 10 of 14.

Cardinals slugger Albert Pujols had two hits, but is in a little power slump. He's gone seven games without a homer and five without an RBI. The reigning NL MVP is hitless in five at-bats against Sean Marshall (2-2, 4.02) in 2009 and 1 for 10 versus him since the start of last season.

Marshall tries to help the Cubs avoid being swept for the first time this season when he makes his first start in 11 days.

Marshall's last turn in the rotation was skipped because of a rainout at Wrigley Field on Friday. The left-hander was moved to the bullpen and earned the win in Saturday's 5-4 victory over Houston by retiring the only batter he faced in the ninth inning.

In his last start on May 10, Marshall gave up two runs and five hits in five innings of a 4-2 win over the Brewers.

He is 0-1 with a 4.91 ERA in two outings against the Cardinals this season and is 1-2 with a 3.43 ERA in four career starts in St. Louis.