Cardinals starting pitcher Chris Carpenter blazed his way to a 4-0 complete-game shutout of the Cubs at Busch Stadium Thursday afternoon. Carpenter allowed seven hits, one walk and stuck out six to improve to 3-1 on the season.
Carpenter needed to throw a shutout just to keep his team in the game. Scott Rolen’s RBI double in the sixth inning produced the first run of the game and it stayed 1-0 until the bottom of the eighth, when Larry Walker belted a solo home run, his second of the season. Later in the inning, Rolen went deep with his third homer of the year. The two-run shot gave Carpenter the 4-0 advantage.
After getting the first two batters in the ninth out, Carpenter struggled. He gave up a single to Derek Lee and Todd Hollandsworth walked. Carpenter was able to work through it and struck out Michael Barrett to end the game, as the Cardinals earned a home split with the Cubs in the two-game series.
Rolen finished the game 2-for-3 with three RBI’s and a run, while Walker was 1-for-3 with an RBI and two runs. Albert Pujols scored a run and went 2-for-4.
