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Carpenter hopes to pitch slumping Cards past Astros

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08/31/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Even with stud right-hander Chris Carpenter on the mound tonight, the St. Louis Cardinals will not be guaranteed a win over the Houston Astros in the second portion of a three-game series between NL Central inhabitants at Minute Maid Park.

St. Louis has lost three straight and 11 of its last 15 contests to fall six games behind Cincinnati for the division lead, but did remain three games in back of Philadelphia for the Wild Card in the Senior Circuit. In Monday's series-opening 3-0 loss at Houston, Jake Westbrook was dealt the hard-luck defeat for yielding all three runs and nine hits in seven innings.

"The first inning was tough for me," said Westbrook. "It was some tough luck out there and the seventh inning was all me, it was all my fault out there."

Westbrook gave up two runs in the seventh frame to put his team in an even bigger hole, while Randy Winn and Yadier Molina had the Cardinals' only two hits on the night. Albert Pujols and Matt Holliday, two of St. Louis' top sluggers, both finished 0-for-3 in the loss.

Carpenter will shoot for his 15th win of the season tonight and has won five of his last six decisions, but did not factor in the outcome of last Thursday's 11-10 loss at Washington. He allowed six runs -- three earned -- and 10 hits over six innings to remain at 14-4 with a 2.93 ERA in 28 starts.

The righty and 2005 NL Cy Young Award winner is 4-1 in 12 road starts and will face Houston for the third time this season. He owns a 1-1 mark with a 3.52 ERA over the first two matchups and is 7-4 in 16 lifetime starts against the Astros.

Houston starter J.A. Happ has been solid since coming over from Philadelphia as part of the Roy Oswalt deal and delivered a two-hit shutout last night. Happ struck out four batters and allowed one walk to improve to 5-2 this season. It was the third shutout of his career and first this season.

"It's been a while since I felt that comfortable throwing first strikes," said Happ. "I was feeding off that confidence. [The Cardinals] were putting the ball in play and we were making the plays out there tonight."

Brett Wallace went 3-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored while Hunter Pence had two hits and a run scored for the Astros, who have won seven of their last nine games, including a four-game sweep in Philadelphia before the weekend.

Houston starter Wandy Rodriguez has been impressive over the past two months and is slated to take the mound Tuesday. Rodriguez is 7-2 with a 1.79 earned run average in his last 12 starts and recently defeated the Phillies last Thursday with seven innings of one-run ball in a 5-1 victory.

The lefty will now face St. Louis for the fourth time this season and is 1-2 with a 6.06 ERA over the initial three starts. In 18 career matchups (17 starts) with the Cardinals, Rodriguez is only 4-11 with a 4.30 ERA.

Rodriguez is 6-5 in 13 starts at Minute Maid Park this season.

Houston has won eight of 13 meetings with the Cardinals this season.

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