Cardinals ace Chris Carpenter didn’t get any offensive support. He tossed seven scoreless innings, but the Cardinals were shut out for the sixth time this season and the bullpen stumbled late in a 1-0 loss to the Dodgers at Dodger Stadium.
Trever Miller gave up a leadoff single to Rafael Furcal and a one-out single to Andre Ethier before Kyle McClellan was tagged for an RBI double from Manny Ramirez. That was the lone run in the game. Hiroki Kuroda got a no-decision for L.A. as he went seven innings allowing just four hits and a walk while striking out six.
Albert Pujols and Matt Holliday are a combined 1 for 15 so far, as Pujols went 0 for 4 with three strikeouts. It is the sixth time the Cardinals have been shutout already this year, compared to last year when the team was shutout 10 times all season!
While this is no time to panic as far as the offense is concerned, it is a bit unnerving when you start to wonder just what type of shape the Cardinals’ pitching staff is in? Kyle Lohse is recovering from forearm surgery and Brad Penny has not thrown a ball since he left a game on May 21st with a back strain.
The outlook for Penny is that he will return to pitch in two weeks. He was outstanding before the injury and the Cardinals could survive two more weeks without him in the rotation and could go the rest of the season riding Carp, Adam Wainwright and a healthy Penny, but I begin the question their depth for a playoff run.
