Angels Video

Kazmir strikes out four

Wood's RBI single

Cardinals Video

Lohse's strong start

Lohse's strong start

Manager Mike Scioscia looks forward to when the 25-year-old turns it around and he can thankfully knock on wood.

The corner infielder, who has shown consistent power time and again in the Minor Leagues, is critical to the Angels' offense. Scioscia senses his frame of mind could also be reaching a critical point.

But with limited options, Wood is getting a chance to swing his way out of a hole, and figures to be back in the lineup even after another hitless night in Friday's loss lowered his average to .157.

The Cardinals' entire offense was scuffling (14 runs in the first four games of their current homestand) until given a jolt Friday night by pitcher Brad Penny's grand slam.

On Saturday, they hope for a more conventional revival against left-hander Scott Kazmir. When the right-handed hitting heart of their lineup (Matt Holliday and Albert Pujols) is clicking, the Cardinals are lethal against southpaws.

And Kazmir takes a 7.59 road ERA into action.

The drop in Wood's average wasn't much from the pregame .162. But it's certainly a bad sign when even an 0-for-4 barely nudges your batting average.

If there is a clock ticking for Wood, it is probably set to go off when Maicer Izturis returns from a should injury. He was eligible to come off the disabled list Friday, and has progressively stretched out his throwing to a distance of 120 feet, but probably won't be activated until the middle of next week.

Scioscia wants to give Izturis more time. Wood, too.

"He's definitely a guy we're going to try to unlock because we think there's so much potential there," Scioscia said of Wood. "The long-term goal is to get Brandon productive, and that's what we're going to keep working toward."

Wood's next stepping stone is Kyle Lohse, the Cardinals right-hander who'll oppose Kazmir in the middle game of the Interleague series.

Angels: Starters' stats revealing
Joel Pineiro could not enjoy his St. Louis return, inasmuch as the three innings comprised his shortest outing since he went 2 2/3 innings on Aug. 5, 2006, for the Mariners against the A's. The disparity figures since obviously poor pitching contributes to losses, but it is still startling that Angels starters have an ERA of 1.70 in the team's 20 wins and a figure of 7.65 ERA in the 24 defeats.

Cardinals: Strikeout totals increasing
It's likely a coincidence, but with Mark McGwire, the onetime all-or-nothing power hitter as their hitting coach, the Cardinals' strikeout rate, the NL's third-lowest last year, is up nearly one per game. St. Louis batters whiffed an average of 6.4 times last year, and are at 7.2 after seven strikeouts Friday night.

Worth noting
This is the Angels' third Interleague series in St. Louis, while the Cardinals have yet to visit Anaheim; the only other team to have never hosted a series against the Redbirds is Baltimore.