Jeff Gordon previews tonight's St. Louis Cardinals-Philadelphia Phillies game at Busch Stadium (7:15 p.m., FSM):
THE STAKES: By extending their midseason surge with fill-ins Jeff Suppan and Blake Hawksworth starting games, the Cardinals put themselves in a great position.
Their six-game winning streak has kept them a half-game ahead of the Reds for the National League Central lead. The Cards would also lead the highly competitive wild-card race with their 52-41 record, were they in second place.
But all Tony La Russa's team has earned so far is an opportunity. They have moved 11 games over .500 for the first time this season. They are catching the injury-riddled Phillies (losers of eight of their last 10 games) at a vulnerable point.
Can the Cards make the most of it? Can they sustain the momentum as their rotation turns to their top three starting pitchers?
PITCHING FOR THE CARDINALS: Chris Carpenter (10-3, 3.16 ERA): He is 4-2 with a 5.73 ERA in eight career starts against the Phillies, but he hasn't faced them since 2006.
Phillies sluggers Ryan Howard and Jayson Werth have hit homers off Carpenter, but collectively they have just six career at-bats against him.
PITCHING FOR THE PHILLIES: Jamie Moyer (9-9, 4.88 ERA): Like a lot of soft-tossing lefties, he has made sport of the Cards over the years. He is 5-1 with a 2.35 ERA in 11 career starts against his former team.
Key Cards hitters Matt Holliday (0 for 6), Albert Pujols (2 for 10) and Felipe Lopez (5 for 27) have bad histories with Moyer.
But the 900-year-old Moyer has been terrible on the road this season (1-5 with a 7.14 ERA in his last six starts outside Philly) and his last two starts produced a 14.04 ERA.
LINEUP INTRIGUE: Third baseman David Freese is climbing the Cards' career leaders list in off-field injuries. A broken toe suffered during weight training seems likely to extend Freese's current disability, so Lopez will remain at third base for the next several weeks.
That will allow Brendan Ryan and Tyler Greene to share the shortstop job and Skip Schumaker to carry the second-base load.
Will Ryan ever get back on track offensively? Will Schumaker regain the hitting stroke he had in May (.271) and June (.311)? The beleaguered middle infielders will get additional opportunity with Freese sidelined.
Schumaker has picked up his defensive play and done a better job working pitch counts during the team's recent surge.
BULLPEN INTRIGUE: Tony La Russa turned to Kyle McClellan for Monday's ninth-inning assignment, keeping him in a late-innings role rather than holding him for middle-relief work.
Memphis closer Fernando Salas rejoined the Cards on Monday in place of Evan MacLane, a starting pitcher by trade.
So that begs the question: Do the Cards have a long reliever on the current staff? Do they need one?
DOWN ON THE FARM: The Cards hoped veteran lefty Renyel Pinto could emerge as a candidate for the long-relief role this season. John Mozeliak signed him to a minor league deal after the Marlins let him go.
But Pinto has walked 10 batters and allowed eight hits in eight innings at Memphis. His 5.63 ERA suggests he is nowhere near ready to help the parent club at this point.
Veteran closer Mike MacDougal -- who had three seasons of 20-plus saves in the majors -- has been similarly unsuccessful. He has walked three batters and allowed seven hits in five innings with the Triple-A Redbirds.
By the way, old friend Rick Ankiel went 2 for 5 with a two-run homer against the Memphis Redbirds on Monday night, leading Omaha to a 7-2 victory. The injury-prone Ankiel is on his second rehab stint this season for the parent Royals.
"I loved my time (in St. Louis), but I felt like it was time to go somewhere else," Ankiel told the Memphis Commercial Appeal. "Just the opportunity that the Royals have given me. It's a great organization. I think they're headed in the right direction.
"They've got a lot of good young players coming. It's fun to be a part of an organization that's trying to get better."
One way the Royals will get better: By dumping Ankiel and his bloated salary after his disastrous 2010 season.
