Kyle Lohse returned to the form he showed early in the season and the Cardinals’ offense was able to get to Dodgers’ starter Brad Penny with 2 outs in the 3rd inning to secure a 4-0 win to put St. Louis back into a tie with Chicago in the top spot in the NL Central.
The Cards took advantage of a couple breaks to get themselves on the board. Penny was cruising with 2 outs and no one on in the 3rd inning when he walked Skip Shumaker and Adam Kennedy. Chris Duncan then blooped an RBI single to left, followed by an Albert Pujols RBI double, then a 2-run double by Rick Ankiel. It was all the Cards would get off Penny as they would only muster up one more hit on the game but it was all they needed with Lohse on the hill. The off-season free agent pickup gave up 6 hits over 6 innings and struck out 5 to put his record at 4-2 on the year. While it was not a save situation, it is also important to note that rookie Chris Perez struck out the side in his 9th inning appearance.
The Cards will try to close out the sweep as Dodger fans get a glimpse of their team’s future this afternoon. Lefty Clayton Kershaw, widely regarded as one of the top 5 prospects in all baseball, will make his major league debut today at 3:10pm (Central time) against Todd Wellemeyer (5-1, 3.25 ERA).
