Currently: - Game info: 1:15 pm EDT Sat Aug 13, 2005
- TV: FOX
Chris Carpenter looks to win his ninth straight decision as the St. Louis Cardinals continue a four-game series with the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field.
Leading the NL and tied for the major league lead with a career-high 16 wins, the 30-year-old right-hander is 8-0 over his last 10 starts since June 14.
Including Sunday’s 5-3 victory over Atlanta, Carpenter has allowed three runs and seven hits over his last 17 innings, striking out 16 and walking three.
Carpenter allowed two runs and four hits over eight innings against the Braves on Sunday, but did not receive a decision.
After losing the series opener 11-4 on Thursday, the Cardinals dropped the second game 4-1 on Friday.
Jason Marquis, who has lost five straight starts and has just one win since June 10, gave up 10 hits and three runs in seven innings.
“It was one of the tougher games I had to pitch in a while,” Marquis said of a humid 80-degree day at Wrigley. “The moisture, the temperature. I didn’t realize how hot it was going to be. I had to work extra hard to make pitches.”
The Cubs, who dropped eight straight coming into this series, got a gutty performance from Carlos Zambrano, who allowed six hits over six shutout innings.
Michael Barrett had two doubles and homered in the eighth for the Cubs, who are 17 games behind St. Louis in the division but have won five of seven from the Cardinals this season.
“I don’t know how to explain it,” Barrett said. “There is a little extra adrenaline and it’s fun to play in a rivalry like that.”
Derrek Lee continues to pile up numbers against the Cardinals. In the first two games of this series, Lee is 4-for-8 with two doubles, two homers, five RBIs and four runs.
Viva El Birdos
Bleed Cubbie Blue
