Heading into a three-game series with the Phillies tonight, the Cardinals find themselves back in sole possession of first place in the NL Central — thank you, Rays, for beating the Brewers last night!
Of course, the Cards also start play without Albert Pujols for the next four to six weeks as he recovers from the fracture in his left forearm. Another significant injury to a major player … this is unfortunately getting too familiar. But, as Derrick Goold writes, Lance Berkman says the team is prepared to take on the challenge:
“As a general rule, baseball players are more resilient than others because we deal with failure all the time. That’s basically our job — to stave off failure,” Berkman said. “This is a challenge. This is a setback. Heck, we haven’t put our full team on the field hardly at all this year. It’s hard to name another team out there that could lose its (Nos.) 3 and 4 hitters for a significant amount of time and still be a viable contender. We have. Take (Prince) Fielder and (Ryan) Braun away from Milwaukee. Take (MVP Joey) Votto away from Cincinnati. Do that and I think things would crumble.
“We have shown such a balanced roster this year,” Berkman concluded, “that if there is any team equipped to handle it, we are.”
This first series will be a big test, though, facing the Phillies. Here’s a closer look at the team from Heather Carnassale of View From Section 116. Follow her throughout the series for the Philadelphia point of view.
The Phillies are 45-28 and are coming off a series loss to the Seattle Mariners, but still sit atop the entire major leagues with the overall best record. They have a comfortable lead in the NL East with the second place Atlanta Braves five games back.
Right now (knock on wood) the injuries are at a minimum. Right hander Joe Blanton is still on the 15-day disabled list due to right elbow soreness and is expected back sometime in July. Brad Lidge has been on the 60-day DL with a right rotator cuff strain and right elbow pain. He could possibly be back by the end of June, but has pretty much lost his closing role to Ryan Madson who has 15 saves on the season.
Backup catcher Brian Schneider is on the 15-day DL due to a strained left hamstring. He is currently rehabbing in Double-A Reading, where he’s caught three games so far. He will likely return this Friday when the Phillies host an interleague series against the Oakland A’s.
Rookie pitcher Vance Worley and Kyle Kendrick are both vying for the fifth starter spot until Blanton’s return. From what I’ve read and heard, Worley is edging out Kendrick for the position. Though Kendrick’s last couple of starts weren’t bad at all, he’s still viewed as a reliever and not full-time starter.
Rookie reliever Michael Stutes and Antonio Bastardo have done a great job in relief. Both have handled the pressure and for the most part, been successful. The Phillies sent reliever J.C. Romero back down to Triple-A Lehigh and are deciding what to do with him, but it appears his days as a Phillie are numbered.
Roy Halladay and Cole Hamels are both tied for the National League lead with nine wins each. Halladay is first in the NL with 114 strikeouts and Cliff Lee is in second with 111.
Tuesday night is Halladay’s first start against the Cardinals this season. He is 9-3 with a 2.56 ERA. Looking for his 10th win, his last outing was very un-Halladay like when he gave up four runs on six hits against the Florida Marlins.
Wednesday night, Cliff Lee will look to continue his hot streak. In his last three starts, all wins by the way, he has only given up 13 hits, one run with 21 strikeouts.
Thursday night is Roy Oswalt and, sadly, he hasn’t been pitching too well. Ever since he came back from his personal time off and short stint on the DL, he has been less than stellar. Besides the nagging back issue, he just seems off. With an ERA of 3.40 and a record of 1-4 in his last seven starts, Oswalt needs to find a way to bounce back. Because in all honesty, I’m not feeling too confident when he takes the mound.
Placido Polanco has been hot all season, but his average has now dropped below .300 and has only six hits out of his last 40 at-bats. Â Hopefully this is just a small slump in an otherwise fantastic season. He still leads all third baseman in NL All-Star votes.
Ryan Howard has 15 home runs and leads the team with 58 RBI. Howard is from St. Louis and loves playing at Busch Stadium.
