Our man Albert Pujols went 3-4 last night with a double, two singles, and a run scored in the Cardinals 4-2 win over the Cincinnati Reds. Brad Thompson pitched well for the Cardinals, going 6 innings, allowing 6 hits, 2 runs, both earned, while walking 1 and striking two out. The Reds pitcher Bronson Arroyo also pitched well, going 7 innings, allowing 6 hits, 1 run, a walk, and 5 strike outs. It was when Arroyo came out the Cardinals made hay. And that was in the 8th inning against Marcus McBeth, who took the loss, and fell to 2-2. He gave up 2 hits, both scored, before getting anyone out.

Troy Percival pitched in his first game in over 2 years, and picked up the win, going one inning(7th inning), giving up no hits, runs or walks, and striking out one. Jason Isringhausen picked up his 15th save of the year to close out the 4-2 victory.

That brings us to tonight’s 6:10 start. The Cardinals gained a game last night, as the Cubs beat the Brewers 6-5. The Cardinals are now 9.5 games back, and 3 back from the second place Chicago Cubs. The Cubs and Brewers play today at 2:55, so we will know who we have a chance to gain a game on today.

Adam Wainwright pitches for the Cardinals today. He is 6-6 with a 4.58 era. Adam is 2-2 in his last 4 starts, including 8-3 and 7-3 wins over the Phillies and Royals, and 5-3 and 5-1 losses to the Royals and Reds. For the Reds, Kyle Lohse will pitch. Kyle has struggled in 2007, going 3-10, with a 5.02 ERA. Kyle has lost 3 straight games, including a 9-1 loss to the Mariners, a 6-1 loss to the A’s, and a 6-3 loss to the Angels. His outing before those, he went 8.1 innings, giving up 7 hits, 1 run, walking 1 and striking out 2 on June 7 against the Cardinals in a 5-1 win. Let’s hope for better luck for the Cardinals against Mr. Lohse!

Albert Pujols has hit Kyle Lohse well. He is 4-7 on the season, with 2 doubles. Aaron Miles is 3-6 on the season against Lohse. In his career, Albert is 4-10, for a .400 batting average. In those 4 hits, Albert has 2 doubles, but has NEVER homered against Lohse. He has walked twice, and never struck out. Time for Albert to go deep against Kyle Lohse!

The Cardinals will take on Central Division foe, the Cincinnati Reds tonight, starting at 6:10pm CDT. Bronson Arroyo with a record of 2-9, and an ERA of 5.14, will pitch for the Reds while Brad Thompson, 6-3, 5.04 will start tonight for the Cardinals.

Arroyo has not won a game since May 6th, where he went 5.2 innings giving up 5 hits, and 3 runs in a 9-3 Reds win over the Padres. In his last 9 starts, 7 of them have been losses. In his last start at Seattle, he gave up 10 hits and 3 runs through 7 innings, in a 3-2 loss.

Thompson has been in and out of the starting rotation, and actually has been one of the Cardinals best pitchers. His last two outings have been out of the bullpen, and he received a decision in both those games. He pitched against the Phillies giving up 2 hits and 3 runs in 1.2 innings, then the other night he threw 1.1 innings, giving up just 1 hit, and coming away with the win, after Brenden Ryan’s extra innings homerun. In his last start, on June 19 against Kansas City, Brad went 7 innings, gave 7 hits, and only one run, in a 5-1 win over the Royals. His start before that he was pounded by Kansas City in a 8-1 defeat.

Pujols is 1-6 on the season against Arroyo, with that hit being a 2 run homerun. He has also walked and struck out.

For his career, Albert is just a .208 hitter, getting 5 hits in 24 at bats, with 1 double, 2 homeruns, 6 rbi’s, 4 walks, and a strike out.

The Cardinals need ATLEAST two from this series, a sweep would help their cause alot, going into the last week before the All Star Break.

Albert Pujols and the St. Louis Cardinals will look to split the series tonight in New York. After last night’s 2-0 rain shortened loss, the Cardinals fell to 34-41, and dropped to 10.5 games behind the first place Brewers and 3 behind the second place Cubs. Adam Wainwright will pitch for the Cardinals, he comes in 6-6 with a 4.58 era, and he will face Orlando Hernandez of the Mets, who comes in with a 3-3 record and a 2.77 ERA.

Pujols went 1-3 the first time he faced Orlando in the 2007 season, with a double. Surprisingly, that was Albert’s first time he has faced him, so he is also 1-3 in his career against Hernandez.

Let’s hope Albert breaks out and the Cardinals get a win tonight!

Albert Pujols and his St. Louis Cardinals will hit the road to play seven straight games away from Busch Stadium this week. On Monday, the Cardinals will face the New York Mets in a rematch of the National League Championship Series. The Cardinals and Mets played a three game series back in St. Louis to start the season with the Mets coming away with three straight wins, to get them off to a great start, and put the Cardinals in a tailspin to start the season.

The Mets come in winners of three straight games, all over Colorado, and a 41-32 record overall. The Cardinals come in after a 5-1 loss to the Phillies yesterday, with an overall record of 33-39. The Mets have been pretty good at home, coming in with a record of 21-18, while the Cardinals come in with a 16-20 record on the road. Now would be a good time to push that closer to .500.

Mike Maroth will make his St. Louis Cardinals debut tonight, and will face former Cardinal Jorge Sosa, who has been pretty good, with a 6-3 record, and a 4.05 ERA. The Cardinals are hoping for a big lift from the lefthanded Maroth. They need it as they come into the game 8.5 games behind the front running Milwaukee Brewers, and a game behind second place Chicago Cubs.

Albert has not faced Sosa in 2007, and has only faced him four times in his career. Albert is 1-4(.250) with a double and rbi career against Jorge. Adam Kennedy is 3-7 lifetime against Sosa, while Ryan Ludwick is 2-3. Look for both of those guys to be in the lineup tonight.

After their four in New York, the Cardinals will travel to Ohio, to see the Cincinnati Reds Friday Saturday and Sunday.

Jamie Moyer, the 44 year old lefthanded pitcher, will take on the kid, Anthony Reyes to kick off a three game series at

Busch Stadium. The Cardinals come into the game with a 32-37 record, and 16-17 at home, while the Phillies are 37-35, and 18-18 away from home. The Cardinals are coming off winning 2 of 3 from the Kansas City Royals, while the Phillies just lost two of three in Cleveland from the Indians.

Moyer, comes into tonights game 6-5, with a 4.40 ERA, while Reyes is 0-8, with a 6.34 ERA. Reyes has never faced the Philadelphia Phillies, a team with plenty of offense, including young star Chase Utley, great power hitter Ryan Howard, and the flashy, fast shortstop Jimmy Rollins. Moyer, coming off a 6-3 win over the Detroit Tigers, where he went 7 innings, gave up 4 hits, and 2 runs, while striking out 4 and walking none. Before that outing, Jamie had last three of his last four decisions.

Our man Albert Pujols comes into the game 0-5 career, with 1 K against Moyer.

CONGRATS to our guy Jose Alberto Pujols, for playing in his 1000th career game tonight at home.

Obviously, the St. Louis Cardinals are not quite where they want to be…. Yet… They sit at 6 games under .500, and 6.5 games out of first place. We have two weeks left of June, then another 10 games or so before the All Star Break. So, there is time. The Brewers will not RUN AWAY from the division, and is anyone REALLY scared of the Cubs? Now, our guy Albert? If he hadn’t of struggled so poorly his first 25-30 games, this guy would be having a MONSTER season. His numbers are slowly looking very good. Let’s take a look:Through 66 games, Albert is hitting .305, with 16 homeruns, 45 rbi’s, and scored 41 runs. He leads the Cardinals in all four of these categories. Now you ask, how is he doing compared to the rest of the NL.. Here we go:

His .305 batting average, currently sits him at 13th in the National League, .58 behind the leader, Matt Holliday, of the Colorado Rockie, and only .39 behind second place, Derrek Lee of the Cubs.

His 16 homeruns, places him tied in 5th in the National League, 9 behind Prince Fielder, of the Brewers, and three behind Adam Dunn of the Reds.

His 45 rbi’s places him 13th currently in the National League. A big rbi day would easily put Albert in the top ten as he trails four guys by 1 rbi, and is only 9 behind the leader Carlos Lee of the Astros.

Albert’s 41 runs, currently puts him at 16th overall in the NL, but again trails several guys by just a few, and sits 17 behind the leader, Hanley Ramirez of the Marlins.

The St. Louis Cardinals, sitting at 30-36, 6.5 games out of first place in the National League Central will start a 6 game home stand tonight, taking on the Kansas City Royals(28-42). The Cardinals are 14-16 at Busch Stadium, while the Royals are 13-18 on the road. Odalis Perez will take the mound for Kansas City, coming in with a 3-7 record and 6.19 ERA, Adam Wainwright will pitch for the Cardinals, coming in with a 5-5 record and 4.86 ERA.

In Odalis Perez last outing, the Cardinals hit him well, pounding him for 10 hits, 7 runs in three innings, as the Cardinals won 7-3. Wainwright was his opponent, winning that same game, going 8 innings, giving up only 1 hit. The Cardinals hope for the same results tonight.

In his career, Albert Pujols has OWNED Odalis Perez. In his last game, Albert went 2-2, with a walk and 3 rbi’s, but for his career, Albert is13-19, for a .684 batting average, with 2doubles, 5homeruns, and 15 rbi’s, also 5 walks. Albert hopes to continue that hot streak, and lead his Cardinals closer to the .500 mark!

Despite, Albert Pujols getting the day off, the Cardinals scored 7 runs and came away with their second straight win to split the series in Denver. Brad Thompson went 7.1 strong innings, allowing only 7 hits and 2 runs, to come away with his fourth win, to only one loss.

Catcher Gary Bennett was the hitting star, going 3-4 and driving home 2 runs, while Juan Encarnacion drove in 3.

The Cardinals now head to Houston, and will face the Astros ace, Roy Oswalt on Friday night

- APCman