Phillies vs. Cardinals Preview
ST. LOUIS (AP) – Roy Oswalt hasn’t looked like a dominant pitcher for the Philadelphia Phillies since coming off the disabled list more than a month ago.
Chris Carpenter hasn’t looked like one all season for the St. Louis Cardinals.
Oswalt will try to cap the Phillies’ first three-game sweep in St. Louis in nearly five years as he squares off against Carpenter and the Cardinals on Thursday night.
According to MLB odds and oddsmakers from online sports book Bodog have made the Cardinals -107 money line favorites for Thursday’s game against the Phillies. Current MLB Public Betting Information shows that 74% of more than 565 bets for this game have been placed on the Phillies +101.
Cliff Lee followed Roy Halladay’s solid outing by throwing a six-hitter en route to a 4-0 victory Wednesday. It was the second straight shutout for Lee, who has thrown 23 consecutive scoreless innings to improve to 4-0 with a 0.27 ERA this month.
“There’s total gratification,” Lee said. “Every time I want to throw the whole game, there’s no doubt about it.”
Jimmy Rollins had a solo homer and suburban St. Louis native Ryan Howard added a two-run shot in a three-run fourth inning for Philadelphia (47-28). The major league-best Phillies have won 10 of 12 and seek their first three-game sweep at Busch Stadium since Aug. 1-3, 2006.
To do that, the Phillies need to get Oswalt back on track and give him some runs to work with.
A two-time 20-game winner, Oswalt is 1-4 in seven starts since May 17, but he’s also gotten just nine runs of support in that span. He was tagged for four runs and eight hits in 6 1-3 innings of a 4-2 loss to Seattle on Friday.
Oswalt (4-5, 3.38 ERA) has totaled 20 strikeouts since rejoining the team, but manager Charlie Manuel said he expects that to change.
“I think you’ll see him come out pretty soon and his fastball will be back where it was,” he told the Phillies’ official website. “I think it’s just a matter of time before you see his fastball jump up. There’s nothing wrong with the way he’s throwing.”
Oswalt is 9-7 with a 3.12 ERA as a starter against the Cardinals (40-35), but the right-hander is 0-3 with a 3.89 ERA in seven games against them stretching back to Aug. 29, 2007.
One player Oswalt won’t miss seeing is three-time NL MVP Albert Pujols, expected to be out six weeks with a fractured wrist. Pujols’ 26 career hits off Oswalt are his most against any active pitcher.
“He’s arguably the best player in the National League,” Lee said of Pujols. “He’s an obvious threat and anytime he’s not in the lineup you feel better about that when you’re the opposing pitcher.”
Ryan Theriot leads the Cardinals with nine career hits against Oswalt, with Matt Holliday and Yadier Molina adding six each.
Looking to extend a winning streak over Philadelphia, Carpenter (1-7, 4.47) goes for his first victory in eight starts overall.
The right-hander is 0-5 since beating the Chicago Cubs on May 10, but has won three straight starts against the Phillies while posting a 3.79 ERA.
Carpenter pitched eight strong innings to beat Philadelphia 7-1 last July 20 en route to going 16-9 with a 3.22 ERA. He threw 124 pitches Friday – his most in nearly a decade – over eight innings Friday against Kansas City, giving up five runs and 10 hits as the Cardinals fell 5-4.
Rollins is 4 for 21 and Howard 1 for 6 against Carpenter. The Phillies’ first baseman is hitting .374 with nine homers and 25 RBI at Busch Stadium, both highs for any visiting player.
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