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I haven't started one of these in a long time. Tomorrow should be a good game.
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Carpenter tries again for win No. 22
St. Louis (95-55) at Cubs (73-76), 1:20 p.m. CT
By Matthew Leach / MLB.com
Now that the Cardinals' magic number is zero, maybe they can finally start thinking about individual awards. The Redbirds have 12 games for their two stars to make their cases for baseball's two most prestigious individual honors, and that chase starts Sunday.
It will be difficult for Albert Pujols to make much hay in the MVP race now that the NL Central Division is settled, since many voters will be paying attention to Andruw Jones' and Miguel Cabrera's performances in pennant-race baseball. Pujols can just keep hitting, though. He's still in the running for the National League batting title as well as MVP honors.
Chris Carpenter, however, can seize control of the Cy Young Award race with a win over Chicago on Sunday. After Dontrelle Willis took the loss for Florida on Saturday, Carpenter can become baseball's only 22-game winner. He already has edges on Willis in ERA, innings pitched and strikeouts, so to lead the NL in wins would likely seal the deal.
Not that a win will be easy. Carpenter's opposite number, Carlos Zambrano, is at his best against St. Louis. The big Venezuelan right-hander has allowed two runs in 23 2/3 innings against the Cards this year, and he has a lifetime 2.70 ERA versus the Redbirds.
Sunday's game is the last one between St. Louis and Chicago this year.
Pitching matchup
STL: RHP Chris Carpenter
• 21-4, 2.31 ERA in 2005
• 2-0, 1.00 ERA vs. CHC in 2005
CHC: RHP Carlos Zambrano
• 13-5, 3.22 ERA in 2005
• 2-0, 0.76 ERA vs. STL in 2005
Player to watch
It's hard to find Cardinals with good numbers against Zambrano, but John Rodriguez has had a little success. The rookie is 3-for-7 with a home run.
Quotable
"It's such a complete team. From the first guy to the 25th guy. From the first bullpen guy to the last bullpen guy. No matter what the situation, they're put in a situation where they can do well. We had some injuries, but everybody else stepped up. There's not enough to be said about what those guys have done." -- Mark Mulder
On the Internet
MLB.TV
Gameday Audio
• Gameday
• Official game notes
On television
• STL: KPLR
• CHC: WGN
On radio
• STL: KMOX 1120
• CHC: WGN 720
Quick hits
The Cardinals have won Carpenter's last 17 starts. ... No National League team has beaten Carpenter since Washington on May 7. ... The Cardinals haven't won a series against the Cubs this year. ... St. Louis needs to go 5-7 over its final 12 games to reach 100 wins for the second year in a row. ... David Eckstein is hitting .323 since Aug. 1. ... Jim Edmonds has 12 hits in September, but nine of them have gone for extra bases. He's batting .218 and slugging .600 for the month. Edmonds leads the Cardinals in home runs (six), RBIs (12) and runs scored (11) for September, but he's 13th in batting average.
On deck
• Tuesday: at Cincinnati, 6:10 p.m. CT
• Wednesday: at Cincinnati, 6:10 p.m. CT
• Thursday: at Reds, 6:10 p.m. CT
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Carpenter tries again for win No. 22
St. Louis (95-55) at Cubs (73-76), 1:20 p.m. CT
By Matthew Leach / MLB.com
Now that the Cardinals' magic number is zero, maybe they can finally start thinking about individual awards. The Redbirds have 12 games for their two stars to make their cases for baseball's two most prestigious individual honors, and that chase starts Sunday.
It will be difficult for Albert Pujols to make much hay in the MVP race now that the NL Central Division is settled, since many voters will be paying attention to Andruw Jones' and Miguel Cabrera's performances in pennant-race baseball. Pujols can just keep hitting, though. He's still in the running for the National League batting title as well as MVP honors.
Chris Carpenter, however, can seize control of the Cy Young Award race with a win over Chicago on Sunday. After Dontrelle Willis took the loss for Florida on Saturday, Carpenter can become baseball's only 22-game winner. He already has edges on Willis in ERA, innings pitched and strikeouts, so to lead the NL in wins would likely seal the deal.
Not that a win will be easy. Carpenter's opposite number, Carlos Zambrano, is at his best against St. Louis. The big Venezuelan right-hander has allowed two runs in 23 2/3 innings against the Cards this year, and he has a lifetime 2.70 ERA versus the Redbirds.
Sunday's game is the last one between St. Louis and Chicago this year.
Pitching matchup
STL: RHP Chris Carpenter
• 21-4, 2.31 ERA in 2005
• 2-0, 1.00 ERA vs. CHC in 2005
CHC: RHP Carlos Zambrano
• 13-5, 3.22 ERA in 2005
• 2-0, 0.76 ERA vs. STL in 2005
Player to watch
It's hard to find Cardinals with good numbers against Zambrano, but John Rodriguez has had a little success. The rookie is 3-for-7 with a home run.
Quotable
"It's such a complete team. From the first guy to the 25th guy. From the first bullpen guy to the last bullpen guy. No matter what the situation, they're put in a situation where they can do well. We had some injuries, but everybody else stepped up. There's not enough to be said about what those guys have done." -- Mark Mulder
On the Internet
MLB.TV
Gameday Audio
• Gameday
• Official game notes
On television
• STL: KPLR
• CHC: WGN
On radio
• STL: KMOX 1120
• CHC: WGN 720
Quick hits
The Cardinals have won Carpenter's last 17 starts. ... No National League team has beaten Carpenter since Washington on May 7. ... The Cardinals haven't won a series against the Cubs this year. ... St. Louis needs to go 5-7 over its final 12 games to reach 100 wins for the second year in a row. ... David Eckstein is hitting .323 since Aug. 1. ... Jim Edmonds has 12 hits in September, but nine of them have gone for extra bases. He's batting .218 and slugging .600 for the month. Edmonds leads the Cardinals in home runs (six), RBIs (12) and runs scored (11) for September, but he's 13th in batting average.
On deck
• Tuesday: at Cincinnati, 6:10 p.m. CT
• Wednesday: at Cincinnati, 6:10 p.m. CT
• Thursday: at Reds, 6:10 p.m. CT
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