The Cardinals entered the All-Star break with a much needed victory. Now they will try to start the second half of the season with four more.
The Cardinals aim to sweep the Dodgers at Busch Stadium today after great pitching performances by Chris Carpenter on Thursday and Adam Wainwright last night. They have outscored the Dodgers 17-5 in the three games so far, as Jeff Suppan aims for his first win of the season to close out the four-game sweep.
The Cardinals only other series with the Dodgers this year ended in a sweep for Los Angeles at Chavez Ravine in early June.
The Cardinals won't have an easy task facing Vicente Padilla. Padilla is 3-1 with a 2.38 ERA since coming off the disabled list and had his best pitching performance in his last start before the All-Star break tossing eight shutout innings of 2-hit ball against the Cubs.
The Cardinals hope they can continue clutch at bats with runners in scoring position as Skip Schumaker came through yesterday with a double down the first base line to drive in the game's first run, and the only run the Cardinals would need to beat the Dodgers.
It won't get any easier after this series as the Cardinals play host to another playoff contender as the Phillies come to town.
The Redbirds are hoping a win is in the cards to get their second half started with four consecutive victories and a 5-game winning streak, which would equal their longest streak of the season.
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