Chi Cubs (21-16) at St. Louis (22-17)

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chc

Dempster to lead injured Cubs into battle

Carrie Muskat / MLB.com
Ryan Dempster will toe the rubber on Wednesday, looking to lift the injury-riddled Cubs, who are still above .500 despite their woes, over the division-rival Cardinals.
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Cubs probable pitcher

Ryan Dempster

  • #46 RHP
  • (3-2) 4.65 ERA 46 SO
Dempster had thrown 121 pitches in his start prior to May 14 vs. the Padres, but showed no wear and tear. Against San Diego, he went seven innings, gave up two runs on three hits and struck out five. He picked up the win, and seems to be in a better groove. He has thrown six or more innings in each of his starts this year, and recorded four quality starts. He did not get a decision in back to back outings vs. the Cardinals last month.
  W-L ERA IP BB SO AVG
Career 79-83 4.56 1475.1 728 1240 .260
Season 3-2 4.65 50.1 21 46 .234
May 2-1 3.54 20.1 7 21 .203
Vs. St. Louis 0-0 5.25 12.0 5 10 .239

Series at a Glance

Standings - 05/20/2009 W L PCT GB Home Away
Chicago Cubs (NL Central) 21 16 .568 3.0 12-7 9-9
St. Louis Cardinals (NL Central) 22 17 .564 3.0 13-8 9-9
Stats - 05/20/2009 AVG R HR RBI SB SO ERA IP H BB SO
CHC .252 182 46 171 20 273 4.48 327.2 298 151 308
STL .259 189 43 184 21 225 4.12 347.1 343 136 250
stl

Return trip: Ace Carpenter set to start

B.J. Rains / MLB.com
After being shelved for five weeks, Cards ace Chris Carpenter is set to thrill fans once more when he returns to the hill to face the rival Cubs on Wednesday.
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Cardinals probable pitcher

Chris Carpenter

  • #29 RHP
  • (1-0) 0.00 ERA 9 SO
This is a very big deal for St. Louis, getting its ace and former Cy Young winner back after he was on the shelf for five weeks. Carpenter was outstanding in both of his starts before he was felled by a left oblique strain. If he's even close to his ideal level of sharpness and strength, he'll help the Cardinals tremendously. Carpenter will likely be on a fairly tight pitch count in his first start, but he's capable of making a tight pitch count last quite a few innings.
  W-L ERA IP BB SO AVG
Career 101-70 4.05 1547.1 470 1180 .267
Season 1-0 0.00 10.0 2 9 .135

Cubs hitters vs Chris Carpenter

  2009 2004-2008
Hitter AVG AB HR RBI AVG AB HR RBI
Adduci, James - - - - - - - -
Baker, Jeff - - - - .250 4 0 0
Blanco, Andres - - - - - - - -
Bradley, Milton - - - - .375 8 1 1
Castillo, Welington - - - - - - - -
Colvin, Tyler - - - - - - - -
Fontenot, Mike - - - - .167 6 0 0
Fox, Jake - - - - - - - -
Fukudome, Kosuke - - - - .000 10 0 0
Fuld, Sam - - - - - - - -
Hill, Koyie - - - - .000 3 0 0
Hoffpauir, Micah - - - - .667 3 0 0
Lee, Derrek - - - - .357 42 1 6
Miles, Aaron - - - - .500 4 0 0
Ramirez, Aramis - - - - .283 46 1 3
Soriano, Alfonso - - - - .316 19 0 2
Soto, Geovany - - - - .286 7 0 0
Theriot, Ryan - - - - .444 9 0 0

Cardinals hitters vs Ryan Dempster

  2009 2004-2008
Hitter AVG AB HR RBI AVG AB HR RBI
Anderson, Bryan - - - - - - - -
Craig, Allen - - - - - - - -
Freese, David - - - - - - - -
Greene, Tyler - - - - - - - -
Hamilton, Mark - - - - - - - -
Jay, Jon - - - - - - - -
Jones, Daryl - - - - - - - -
Ludwick, Ryan .500 6 0 2 .421 19 1 3
Lugo, Julio - - - - - - - -
Mather, Joe - - - - .333 3 0 1
Molina, Yadier .200 5 0 0 .318 22 0 0
Pagnozzi, Matt - - - - - - - -
Pujols, Albert .200 5 0 0 .250 32 2 7
Rasmus, Colby - - - - .143 7 0 0
Robinson, Shane - - - - - - - -
Ryan, Brendan - - - - .286 7 1 1
Schumaker, Skip .500 6 0 2 .419 31 0 3
Stavinoha, Nick - - - - .250 4 0 0

Carpenter lays winning foundation (21-17) (23-17)

Cardinals 2, Cubs 1

Punchless in St. Louis

Carrie Muskat / MLB.com
The Cubs struggled offensively for the second straight night, and subsequently suffered their second straight loss to the Cards, and third straight overall. Ryan Dempster yielded two runs over seven innings, but Micah Hoffpauir's RBI single in the ninth proved to be the only offense.

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Series at a Glance

 

Welcome back, Carp

Matthew Leach / MLB.com
Activated from the DL after being sidelined for five weeks with a strained left oblique, Chris Carpenter blanked the Cubs on three hits and fanned four over five innings to earn the win in his return. Chris Duncan drove in the first run on a single and scored the second on a sac fly.
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Cardinals 2, Cubs 1

Chi Cubs AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG
Soriano, A, LF 4 0 0 0 0 3 1 .272
Theriot, SS 4 0 1 0 0 0 1 .287
Fukudome, CF 2 0 0 0 1 1 2 .319
Lee, D, 1B 4 0 1 0 0 2 2 .230
Bradley, RF 3 1 1 0 1 1 3 .193
Fontenot, 3B 4 0 0 0 0 0 2 .200
Soto, C 3 0 1 0 1 0 0 .202
  1-Freel, PR 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .136
Scales, 2B 3 0 0 0 0 1 1 .296
  b-Hoffpauir, M, PH 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 .314
Dempster, P 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 .095
  a-Miles, PH 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 .218
  Marmol, P 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
  c-Johnson, Re, PH 1 0 0 0 0 1 2 .232
Totals 32 1 6 1 3 9 15  

a-Singled for Dempster in the 8th. b-Singled for Scales in the 9th. c-Struck out for Marmol in the 9th.
1-Ran for Soto in the 9th.

BATTING
2B: Theriot (8, Carpenter, C), Bradley (2, Franklin).
TB: Theriot 2; Lee, D; Bradley 2; Soto; Hoffpauir, M; Miles.
RBI: Hoffpauir, M (14).
2-out RBI: Hoffpauir, M.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Bradley; Dempster; Lee, D; Johnson, Re.
Team RISP: 1-for-7.
Team LOB: 8.

FIELDING
E: Fontenot (3, fielding).
DP: 2 (Theriot-Scales-Lee, D, Scales-Theriot-Lee, D).
 
St. Louis AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG
Schumaker, 2B-RF 4 0 1 0 0 0 0 .299
Rasmus, CF 4 0 1 0 0 2 1 .250
Pujols, 1B 3 1 2 0 1 0 0 .326
Molina, Y, C 2 0 0 0 0 0 3 .285
Duncan, LF 3 1 2 1 0 0 0 .262
Stavinoha, RF 2 0 0 0 0 1 1 .250
  b-Barden, PH-3B 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .258
Thurston, 3B-2B 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 .232
Carpenter, C, P 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
  a-Wainwright, PH 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .190
  McClellan, P 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
  c-Greene, K, PH 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 .202
  Motte, P 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
  Reyes, D, P 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
  Franklin, P 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
Ryan, Br, SS 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 .261
Totals 25 2 6 2 2 4 6  

a-Struck out for Carpenter, C in the 5th. b-Hit a sacrifice bunt for Stavinoha in the 7th. c-Hit a sacrifice fly for McClellan in the 7th.

BATTING
2B: Pujols (8, Dempster), Rasmus (6, Dempster), Duncan (12, Dempster).
TB: Schumaker; Rasmus 2; Pujols 3; Duncan 3.
RBI: Duncan (24), Greene, K (12).
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Ryan, Br.
S: Molina, Y; Barden.
SF: Greene, K.
GIDP: Stavinoha; Molina, Y.
Team RISP: 1-for-3.
Team LOB: 4.

BASERUNNING
SB: Thurston (2, 2nd base off Dempster/Soto).

FIELDING
Outfield assists: Duncan (Bradley at 1st base).
DP: (Duncan-Ryan, Br-Pujols).
 
Chi Cubs IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Dempster (L, 3-3) 7.0 6 2 2 2 3 0 4.40
Marmol 1.0 0 0 0 0 1 0 3.79
 
St. Louis IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Carpenter, C (W, 2-0) 5.0 3 0 0 2 4 0 0.00
McClellan (H, 6) 2.0 0 0 0 0 2 0 2.33
Motte (H, 8) 0.2 1 0 0 0 1 0 4.11
Reyes, D (H, 7) 0.1 0 0 0 0 1 0 3.55
Franklin (S, 10) 1.0 2 1 1 1 1 0 1.56

IBB: Pujols (by Dempster), Thurston (by Dempster).
HBP: Fukudome (by McClellan).
Pitches-strikes: Dempster 103-67, Marmol 12-8, Carpenter, C 67-41, McClellan 26-15, Motte 12-8, Reyes, D 3-3, Franklin 21-14.
Groundouts-flyouts: Dempster 15-3, Marmol 1-1, Carpenter, C 7-3, McClellan 2-2, Motte 0-1, Reyes, D 0-0, Franklin 0-2.
Batters faced: Dempster 27, Marmol 3, Carpenter, C 19, McClellan 7, Motte 3, Reyes, D 1, Franklin 6.
Inherited runners-scored: Reyes, D 1-0.
Umpires: HP: Brian Gorman. 1B: CB Bucknor. 2B: Mike Everitt. 3B: Gerry Davis.
Weather: 77 degrees, clear.
Wind: 6 mph, R to L.
T: 2:28.
Att: 41,703.
May 20, 2009

Box score official statistics approved by Major League Baseball Office of the Commissioner