Read More: Kyle Lohse (P – STL), Mark Buehrle (P – CWS), Albert Pujols (1B – STL), St. Louis Cardinals, Florida Marlins

According to Phil Rogers of the Chicago Tribune, the St. Louis Cardinals are shopping for a suitor take on RHP Kyle Lohse. The trade, says Rogers, is intended to free up a rotation spot and roster space for a potential Mark Buehrle signing:

… the source indicated that the Cardinals are trying to make room for Buehrle by trading right-hander Kyle Lohse… He’s had an up-and-down career and is due to make $11.875 million this season, however, which lessens his desirability considerably.

The 33-year-old Lohse finished last season with an above-average 3.39 ERA and 3.67 FIP through 188 and 1/3 innings.

The Cardinals are also currently engaged in a bidding war against the Miami Marlins for the services of Albert Pujols. However, but replacing Lohse with Buehrle, they are almost certainly reducing their available budget for Pujols.

Stay tuned to SB Nation St. Louis for more information, and for in-depth analysis on the St. Louis Cardinals be sure to visit Viva El Birdos. Visit Baseball Nation for more news and notes around the league.

ST. LOUIS — All those clutch hits by Albert Pujols and the St. Louis Cardinals disappeared Thursday night.

Randy Wolf flummoxed the Cardinals with pitches that were slow, slower and slowest, leading the Milwaukee Brewers to a 4-2 victory that tied the NL championship series 2-all.

St. Louis scored 22 runs in the first 19 innings of the playoff series, including four in the first inning Wednesday. Though shut out through the rest of the way, the Cardinals held on to win 4-3 in Game 3.

But after solo homers put St. Louis up 2-0 through three innings Thursday, the Cardinals couldn’t put anything together. They went 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position and failed twice to get a man home from third with less than two outs.

Wolf baffled them with a changeup clocked consistently around 65 mph.

“We had a couple of chances to add a run and Wolf made outstanding pitches,” Cardinals manager Tony La Russa said. “These are productive guys. He just made reallygood pitches.”

Milwaukee ended an eight-game road losing streak in the postseason dating to the 1982 World Series opener at St. Louis.

Cardinals lefty Jaime Garcia faces Zack Greinke for the second time in the series in Game 5 on tonight. Either way, the best-of-seven NLCS will be decided back at Miller Park.

“It feels good to know that we’re at least going to get to go back home,” said Ryan Braun, who singled home the go-ahead run in the fifth.

Pujols, who was 6 for 7 with two intentional walks the previous two games, went 1 for 4 with a harmless single in the fifth.

Yadier Molina came up three times with runners in scoring position and made outs each time, grounding out with two on in the third, lining out to center with a man on second for the first out in the sixth and striking out with a runner on second to end the eighth.

Since the first inning of Wednesday’s game, the Cardinals are 0 for 15 with runners in scoring position.

Another so-so starting pitching performance didn’t help. After solo homers by Matt Holliday in the second and Allen Craig in the third gave St. Louis the lead, Kyle Lohse couldn’t hold it, allowing three runs in 4 1-3 innings to take the loss.

Wolf went seven innings for his first postseason win at age 35. He allowed six hits, struck out six and walked one.

The Cardinals couldn’t capitalize on their few opportunities. After Holliday’s homer they had runners on first and third with one out in the second, but Jon Jay’s chopper to first failed to score the run and Lohse struck out.

In the sixth, Holliday led off with a double and went to third on Molina’s liner. But Ryan Theriot struck out and Jay flied out to center.

Francisco Rodriguez allowed a hit in the eighth and John Axford finished for his second save of the series and third this postseason.

Jerry Hairston Jr. doubled twice with an RBI and Wolf hit one of the Brewers’ five doubles. Braun is batting .471 (16 for 34) in the postseason with two homers and nine RBIs.

Brewers 4, Cardinals 2 Milw. ab r h bi St. Louis ab r h bi

Morgan cf-rf 4 1 2 0 Furcal ss 5 0 0 0

Kotsay rf 4 0 0 0 Craig rf 4 1 1 1

CGomz cf 1 0 0 0 Pujols 1b 4 0 1 0

Braun lf 5 0 2 1 Freese 3b 4 0 2 0

Fielder 1b 3 1 1 0 Hollidy lf 3 1 2 1

RWeks 2b 4 1 1 0 YMolin c 4 0 1 0

Counsll 2b 0 0 0 0 Theriot 2b 4 0 0 0

HrstnJr 3b 4 1 2 1 Jay cf 4 0 0 0

YBtncr ss 4 0 1 1 Lohse p 2 0 0 0

Kottars c 4 0 0 1 MBggs p 0 0 0 0

FrRdrg p 0 0 0 0 Rhodes p 0 0 0 0

Axford p 0 0 0 0 Dotel p 0 0 0 0

Wolf p 2 0 1 0 Punto ph 1 0 0 0

Lucroy c 1 0 0 0 Salas p 0 0 0 0

Brkmn ph 1 0 1 0

Totals 36 4 10 4 Totals 36 2 8 2

Milwaukee 000 211 000 — 4

St. Louis 011 000 000 — 2

E — R.Weeks (2), Theriot (1). DP — St. Louis 1. LOB — Milwaukee 8, St. Louis 8. 2B — Morgan (1), Fielder (2), Hairston Jr. 2 (3), Wolf (1), Holliday (1), Y.Molina (2). HR — Craig (1), Holliday (1). S — Wolf.

Milwaukee IP H R ER BB SO

Wolf W,1-0 7 6 2 2 1 6

Fr.Rodriguez H,2 1 1 0 0 0 1

Axford S,2-2 1 1 0 0 0 0

St. Louis IP H R ER BB SO

Lohse L,0-1 41/3 6 3 3 0 3

M.Boggs 1 3 1 1 0 0

Rhodes 2/3 0 0 0 0 1

Dotel 1 0 0 0 1 2

Salas 2 1 0 0 0 2

HBP — by Lohse (Morgan). T — 3:25. A — 45,606 (43,975).

CBSSports.com wire reports
June 4, 2011

ST. LOUIS — Next time Albert Pujols comes to the plate with a chance to win it, the Chicago Cubs might just take the bat out of his hands. Even with the bases empty.

After Pujols hit his second homer of the game with two outs in the 12th inning to give the St. Louis Cardinals a 5-4 victory on Saturday, Cubs manager Mike Quade second-guessed his decision to pitch to the three-time NL MVP.

“I’m not in the habit of walking people with two out and nobody on,” Quade said. “I understand how good this guy is, so we’ll have to rethink that a little bit.

“You figure you can keep him in the ballpark, you take your chances, and we couldn’t,” he said.

Pujols hit the ninth game-ending homer of his career and first since Aug. 16, 2009, against the Padres on a 2-1 pitch from Jeff Samardzija (3-2) as the Cardinals prevailed in 95-degree heat. He has 41 career multihomer games, two of them this season, and has homered three times the last two games to emerge from a power funk.

“You can do a lot of good things in two months and you can struggle in two months,” Pujols said. “Hopefully, it’s my time now.”

St. Louis relievers retired 17 in a row to end it, with Eduardo Sanchez (2-1) striking out two in two perfect innings. The Cubs have lost eight of 10 and didn’t get a hit after Carlos Pena’s infield single with one out in the seventh.

This was only Pujols’ second game with multiple extra-base hits of the season, and he drove in four runs. Pujols hit a two-run shot off Randy Wells in the fourth and his RBI double chased Wells in a two-run sixth that tied it.

“Greatness all over,” manager Tony La Russa said. “I don’t know how Albert does it.”

Pena hit a two-run homer in the Cubs’ four-run sixth against Kyle Lohse. Kosuke Fukudome had three hits, two of them doubles, with an RBI.

St. Louis had the bases loaded with one out in the ninth before the Cubs went to Carlos Marmol, who struck out Lance Berkman and got Tony Cruz on a flyout. Pujols, who led the National League with 38, 44 and 34 intentional walks the last three seasons, drew only his fourth this year in the ninth.

Marmol worked around a hit batsman and infield hit in the 11th and has thrown 25 1/3 consecutive scoreless innings on the road, a franchise best for Cubs relievers, according to information provided by the Cubs from the Elias Sports Bureau.

Kyle Lohse gave up a season-high 11 hits and four runs, all in the sixth to match a season worst, and failed to last at least six innings for the first time in his 12 starts this season. He’s 1-4 with a 6.51 ERA in 11 starts against the Cubs.

Pena’s two-run homer was one of three extra-base hits in the sixth that erased a 2-0 deficit, with Tony Campana and Kosuke Fukudome also driving in a run apiece.

Pujols’ RBI double cut the deficit to one and chased Wells. Berkman singled on an 0-2 count against Sean Marshall, who had held opponents to 3 for 21 with runners in scoring position, to tie it.

“The double in the sixth, I got beat with my fourth best pitch,” Wells said. “That was not a good pitch and probably not a good decision to throw it. I left it out there and he does what he does with it.”

Like Lohse, Wells gave up four runs and lasted 5 2/3 innings, but the Cardinals needed only three hits. In two starts since coming off the 15-day disabled list from a forearm injury, Wells has allowed nine runs in 9 2/3 innings.

Wells had won his previous two starts against St. Louis, both last season, allowing one run in 15 innings.

Cardinals leadoff man Ryan Theriot singled in the sixth and walked and has hit in a career-high 18 games, also the longest active streak in the majors.

Notes

• Quade said 3B Aramis Ramirez , who has missed three starts with a cut on his lip after getting struck in the face diving for a grounder, could return to the lineup Sunday.
• RHP Matt Garza (elbow) is set to return from the DL on Monday and start at Cincinnati and Quade said RHP Rodrigo Lopez could start Tuesday.
• 3B Matt Carpenter made the defensive stop of the game in his major league debut, diving to his right to rob Darwin Barney of a hit in the third, and doubled for his first hit in the ninth.
• Attendance of 43,195 was the Cardinals’ third sellout of the season.
• Theriot’s hitting streak is the Cardinals’ longest since Juan Encarnacion and So Taguchi also hit in 18 straight in 2007. He has 20 RBIs without a homer, the most since Willie McGee had 20 in 1999.
• Kerry Wood gave up a double and hit a batter in a season-high two innings with two strikeouts. It was his only his second outing over one inning.
• Warren Brusstar (1983) and Lee Smith (1982-83) each worked 23 2/3 consecutive scoreless innings on the road for Chicago.

Nearly two months in, the St. Louis Cardinals have one victory from twin aces Chris Carpenter and Adam Wainwright. Woe is them, right?

Nope. The Cardinals lead the National League Central because the rest of the arms have been strong enough to withstand two big hits, Wainwright’s elbow reconstruction in February and Carpenter’s roughest stretch by far since joining St. Louis in 2004.

Former setup man Kyle McClellan took Wainwright’s spot and was the National League’s first six-game winner. Jaime Garcia, third in NL rookie of year voting last year, is 5-0 with two shutouts and a 1.93 ERA. Finally free of forearm woes that dogged him most of the last two years, Kyle Lohse is one of baseball’s top innings eaters.

Jake Westbrook is finding his form, too, after a shaky April. Overall, the rotation totals 22 victories.

“Our starting pitching,” manager Tony La Russa, “has been wonderful.”

So far, it’s been more than enough to thrive minus Wainwright, a 20-game winner last year, and with Carpenter scuffling at 1-5 with a 4.58 ERA after a tough-luck complete-game loss at San Diego on Wednesday.

“I wouldn’t say I thought it was impossible, but I didn’t realize they were this good,” Wainwright said. “They’re doing exactly what they’d be doing if I was here. They’re just good.”

Even Carpenter, while not as commanding as in his celebrated past, has not as bad as it might seem. He’s 0-3 with a 1.98 in four starts in which the Cardinals have totaled three runs.

“I just continue to get ready for my next start, I can’t control what’s going on,” Carpenter said. “Things happen. It’s been weird.”

All five have been going deep, especially lately. Six of the last 10 games starters have worked eight innings, easing concerns at middle relief prior to the season and handing it over to one of La Russa’s kid closers, Fernando Salas or Eduardo Sanchez.

Lohse (6-2, 2.06) is second in the league with 74 1/3 innings, trailing only the Phillies’ Roy Halladay. He’s averaging more than seven innings per outing, going eight in three of the last four, and looking even better than pre-injury 2008 when he won 15 games and got a four-year contract extension.

In Lohse’s last 13 starts last season, he lasted six or more innings only three times.

“It doesn’t matter to me who’s up there, I’ve just got to make pitches,” Lohse said. “I’m just keeping things simple and not trying to think of big things or big picture. I haven’t looked back so far.”

McClellan (6-1, 3.11) had 19 holds and two saves last year and never got more than six outs in any of his 68 appearances. He has a pair of eight-inning stints this month, relentlessly attacking Astros hitters in one of them with zero three-ball counts.

Westbrook (4-3, 5.17) has allowed one run in 15 innings his last two outings, outpitching the Marlins’ Josh Johnson and the Phillies’ Cliff Lee. He was 1-2 with a 9.82 ERA his first four starts, judging afterward that he had just been “slinging it up there and hoping something good happens instead of telling myself to have a focus and a purpose for each pitch.”

Besides baffling hitters with an assortment of deliveries topped by a darting fastball, the 24-year-old Garcia has shown maturity on a handful of occasions when he shook off defensive mistakes and just got back to work. At home he’s been nearly untouchable, allowing one earned run in 31 innings.

“I would say that every time I go out there I get better and better mentally,” Garcia said. “You get more experience and you learn what you do in those situations. Stay calm.”

That’s got to be Carpenter’s mantra, too.

The 36-year-old right-hander has won at least 15 games in all six of his healthy seasons with St. Louis, won the NL Cy Young award in 2005 and finished second in 2009. He was closer to his old self at San Diego, tied at 1 against Mat Latos before giving up a pair of runs on two infield hits and a double in the eighth inning of a 3-1 loss.

Most of the way so far Carpenter has rarely had all of his pitches working, and surrendered at least 10 hits in three straight starts beginning in late April. He was 0-2 the first month, his first winless month with St. Louis, and has paid for the mistake pitches.

“He’s had a bunch of quality starts,” La Russa said. “He’s had one or two where he had the ball in the middle and they got some base hits. He’s more than doing his part.”

CBSSports.com wire reports
May 18, 2011

ST. LOUIS — Kyle Lohse paid no attention to the ever-changing defensive lineup behind him. He just kept attacking the Houston Astros’ lineup.

Lohse threw eight dominant innings to beat the Astros for the second time in less than a month, leading the St. Louis Cardinals to a 5-1 victory Wednesday night. Manager Tony La Russa used three players in left field and three at second base to compensate for what he believed to be minor injuries to left fielder Matt Holliday and Lance Berkman.

“I just kept throwing it up there and letting them hit to whoever was somewhere, I don’t know,” Lohse said. “I couldn’t even tell who was where at the end.

“We’ve got of guys that can play different positions and you need that, especially on a weird night like tonight when guys are going down.”

Jon Jay had two RBI in a four-run third and started a double play in the seventh with a diving catch in center field. Pinch-hitter Pete Kozma — hitting for Berkman — had an RBI double in his first career at-bat for the Cardinals, who have won three in a row while limiting the opposition to only three runs.

Bud Norris was knocked out after five innings against a team he’s dominated. Norris (2-3) had been 5-1 with a 1.97 ERA against the Cardinals and 4-0 in St. Louis, while going only 17-15 overall.

“That’s a good hitting lineup,” Norris said. “I’m fortunate to do so well against them the last couple of times, but you can’t hold them down forever.

“They found some holes and it’s a little tough to swallow, but that’s the game of baseball.”

Norris faced 10 batters in the third, issuing a bases-loaded walk to Allen Craig, and allowed five runs on seven hits in his second-shortest appearance of the year.

Michael Bourn and Humberto Quintero had two hits apiece for the Astros, who have lost four in a row and totaled four runs the last three games.

La Russa finished with only backup catcher Gerald Laird on the bench. Holliday was removed after two innings with a tight left quadriceps, perhaps from making a running catch at the warning track, and Kozma pinch hit in the sixth for Berkman, removed as a precaution with tightness in his right wrist not long after he charged to make a diving catch in right field.

“Holliday gave me a nod, which makes me think that he’ll be back soon,” La Russa said, adding that his cleanup hitter might not be back for a day game Thursday.

Berkman said he jammed his wrist into the ground getting the catch. X-rays showed no problems.

“I didn’t want to get jerked out of the game right there, I mean heck, there’s adrenaline and everything else and then you can kind of identify it,” Berkman said. “Tomorrow morning will be a good test to see how it feels when I wake up.”

Lohse (5-2) allowed a run on six hits in eight innings, his fourth outing of eight or more innings, and has a 2.17 ERA. He was 4-8 with a 6.55 ERA last year while battling a forearm injury that required surgery in May.

“I’m just trying to keep things simple, trying not to think of the big picture and stay focused,” Lohse said. “I haven’t looked back so far.”

Lohse threw seven scoreless innings at Houston on April 27 and the run was at 13 straight before Carlos Lee doubled to begin the seventh and scored on Chris Johnson’s single. Johnson was easily doubled off after Jay made a nice running, diving catch of Clint Barmes’ drive.

Albert Pujols is homerless in his last 88 at-bats, one off his career worst at the end of the 2009 season, after going 1 for 4 with an RBI single in the third.

Craig started for the second straight game at second base, where he has virtually no experience, and handled five chances flawlessly before going to the outfield.

Notes

• Kozma, the Cardinals’ first-round pick in 2007, was recalled earlier in the day after IF Nick Punto was placed on the DL with a right forearm injury. Kozma finished the game at 2B.
• Despite an 0-for-14 slump, Holliday leads the National League with a .358 average. Berkman is batting .349.
• Cardinals LPH Brian Tallet (broken right hand) is set for a second rehab outing on Friday.
• La Russa, who returned from shingles on Monday, was uncomfortable Wednesday, saying “I’m itching and stinging.”
• Longtime broadcaster Milo Hamilton joined the Astros in anticipation of the franchise’s first visit to Toronto on Friday, which will be Hamilton’s 59th stadium.

Kyle Lohse regained his form one start after his 22-inning scoreless streak ended. He just couldn’t quite match Yovani Gallardo.

The St. Louis Cardinals right-hander allowed only one run in eight innings, but left trailing against a pitcher who carried a no-hitter into the eighth in the Milwaukee Brewers’ 4-0 victory Saturday.

“It doesn’t really matter if we scored 10 runs or no runs, I’m trying to throw zeros,” Lohse said. “It doesn’t change the fact that I’m out there trying to throw the best game I could.”

Lohse (4-2) lost for the first time since his first start of the year while lowering his ERA to 2.24. On Monday, he gave up five runs in six innings against the Marlins and took a line drive off his right shin, but the injury responded to treatment.

In Lohse’s last four innings, the Brewers didn’t get a runner into scoring position.

“I didn’t think it would be much of a problem after I pitched my bullpen,” Lohse said. “I knew I could get through it.”

Gallardo (3-2) was the second consecutive pitcher to flirt with a no-hitter at Busch Stadium, allowing only a single to start the eighth inning in a victory that busted two slumps.

Gallardo left after eight, the lone blemish Daniel Descalso’s solid single up the middle on a 1-1 count. The Brewers’ opening-day starter entered the game with 53 hits allowed, tops in the major leagues, and ended a string of five poor outings in which he was 1-2 with an 8.89 ERA.

“It’s surprising to see a guy with that kind of stuff with that kind of ERA coming in,” Lohse said. “He had his stuff working for him. I don’t know what he was doing against other guys, but you’ve got to tip your cap to him.”

John Axford worked a perfect ninth for the Brewers, who were outscored 37-7 and shut out three times during a seven-game losing streak. Manager Ron Roenicke canceled batting practice Saturday in hopes of shaking up the offense.

The Cardinals’ Jaime Garcia carried a perfect game into the eighth Friday and threw a two-hitter in a 6-0 victory over Milwaukee.

Carlos Gomez gave the Brewers breathing room in the ninth with a two-run triple off Jason Motte that sailed over the head of right fielder Lance Berkman, then scored on pinch-hitter Yuniesky Betancourt’s sacrifice fly. Motte had replaced Mitchell Boggs, who was yanked after throwing a wild pitch that made it a 1-1 count against Gomez, and Gomez’s hit came on a 2-2 count.

Gallardo retired the first 13 batters in order before walking Berkman on a full count with one out in the fifth, and threw three more full-count walks before giving up Descalso’s hit. He had been 0-4 with a 5.63 ERA in seven career starts against St. Louis.

Lohse said his pregame warmup was “probably one of the worst warmups I’ve had in a while.”

“I just kept focused,” he added. “I’ve done it enough that I battled through it and finally found that groove.”

Overall, Lohse has allowed runs in only six of his 52 2-3 innings.

Lohse needed an extra out to escape a bases-loaded jam in the second after shortstop Tyler Greene inexplicably went for a forceout at second instead of going to first on Gallardo’s two-out grounder, and Gomez hustled into second. Rickie Weeks struck out to end that threat.

Greene also bunted foul three times with a man on and none out in the eighth, the first on a 3-0 count. Manager Tony La Russa said third base coach Jose Oquendo “kept coming over there telling him to get the ball down.”

“Only regret we have is the last one was ball four,” La Russa said.

Prince Fielder scored from first on Casey McGehee’s two-out double in the third. The Brewers had two hits in the eighth but neither made it past first after Weeks got a leadoff single and then was easily caught stealing on a pitchout.

Gallardo was helped early by two exceptional defensive plays. Gomez made a leaping catch at the center-field wall to prevent extra bases for Colby Rasmus in the first, and right fielder Mark Kotsay saved two runs with a running catch near the line and warning track that robbed Greene of extra bases to end the fifth.

NOTES: Cardinals SS Ryan Theriot did not play a day after leaving in the fourth with a bruised left shin, where he was hit by a pitch. Theriot had been optimistic Friday night but La Russa said he’d rather not push it. … Garcia has a 0.39 ERA at home.