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St. Louis, MO – The St. Louis Cardinals stumbled into the All-Star break. They’ve been outstanding since returning.
The NL Central-leading Cardinals look to win seven straight for the first time in four years Tuesday when they continue their series with the road-weary Philadelphia Phillies.
Oddsmakers from online sports book SPORTSBETTING.com have made the Cardinals –190 money line favorites for Tuesday’s game against the Phillies. Current MLB Public Betting Information shows that 68% of more than 290 bets for this game have been placed on the Cardinals -190.
Since dropping seven of 11 heading into the All-Star break, the Cardinals (52-41) have posted their first four-game sweep of the Los Angeles Dodgers in 23 years, regained the division lead from Cincinnati and pushed their record a season-high 11 games above .500.
St. Louis continued its post-All-Star game surge Monday by hitting four homers – three in the fifth inning – for its season-high sixth straight victory, 8-4 over the Phillies. The Cardinals’ last four-homer game at Busch Stadium was July 17, 2008, against San Diego.
"That was something you didn’t see too much in the first half, but we knew it was coming around,” said Albert Pujols, who went 2 for 4 with a two-run homer and three RBIs.
While the Cardinals try to win seven in a row for the first time since July 7-16, 2006, the Phillies (48-44) are looking for better results on the road, where they’ve dropped eight of 10, including four of five on their current trip. Philadelphia is a season-worst six games out of first place in the NL East.
"It’s not over,” shortstop Jimmy Rollins said.
But getting back on track could be hard the way the Cardinals are playing. Chris Carpenter (10-3, 3.16 ERA) takes the mound as St. Louis goes for its first seven-game home winning streak since a nine-game run April 9-25, 2009. The veteran right-hander said he is feeling better with his mechanics following back-to-back losses to open July.
Making his first start in a week after not pitching in the All-Star game, Carpenter struck out six and threw eight innings of four-hit ball in Thursday’s 7-1 victory over Dodgers.
"I’ve still got some work to do, but no question it was way better than it’s felt the last two times," he said.
Carpenter is 4-2 with a 5.73 ERA in eight starts against Philadelphia, which he hasn’t faced since 2006.
Philadelphia counters with Jamie Moyer (9-9, 4.88). The 47-year-old left-hander, who is trying to win 10 games for the 16th time, has lost his last three starts and has a 14.04 ERA in his last two outings. He allowed six runs in three innings of Thursday’s 12-6 loss at the Chicago Cubs.
"I just felt that if I made good pitches down I’d be fine, but I made bad pitches down, I made bad pitches up and paid for it. I didn’t execute," said Moyer, who is 1-5 with a 7.14 ERA in his last six road starts.
Moyer, who was 0-5 with a 5.74 ERA for the Cardinals in 1991, is 5-1 with a 2.35 ERA in 11 starts versus St. Louis.
Cardinals outfielder Randy Winn, who delivered a pinch-hit homer Monday, could be in the starting lineup Tuesday thanks to his .400 (10 for 25) career average against the Phillies starter.
Philadelphia first baseman Ryan Howard, the NL player of the week and a suburban St. Louis native, went 2 for 5 on Monday to improve his lifetime batting average at Busch Stadium to .382. He is 1 for 3 with a homer lifetime against Carpenter.
Cardinals rookie Allen Craig hit his first career homer Monday and is batting .364 with six RBIs on the homestand.
Posted: 7/19/10 12:20AM ET