Chris Carpenter

HittingDeivi Cruz, Tigers: grand slam, triple.Albert Belle, White Sox: 4 RBIs, HR.PitchingDavid Wells, Yankees: 9 innings, 0 runs, 2 hits, 13 strikeouts.Chris Carpenter, Blue Jays: 7 innings, 1 run, 4 hits.Pub Date: 9/02/98

Predicted finish, records Reds Cardinals Cubs Brewers Astros Pirates 91-71 85-77 84-78 83-79 79-83 68-94 Pennants, wild cards since 1995: 3,1. Average payroll: $91.9 million (fourth of six divisions). Manager with World Series rings: Tony La Russa ('09, '06). Players with MVP awards: Joey Votto ('10), Albert Pujols ('05, '08, '09). Pitchers with Cy Young awards: Zack Greinke ('09)

Opponent: Toronto Blue Jays Site: Camden Yards Time: 3:05 p.m. TV/Radio: Ch. 54/WBAL (1090 AM) Starters: Blue Jays' Chris Carpenter (3-1, 5.23) vs. Orioles' Travis Driskill (6-3, 4.76)

Can't beat Cards' duo Dan Connolly Baltimore Sun This is a no-brainer: The Phillies with Roy Halladay and Cliff Lee. Oh, wait, the Phillies wanted to rebuild their farm system and dealt away Lee. How is that move working out? The real winner of this contest is the Cardinals, who finished second and third in the NL Cy Young voting last year with studs Chris Carpenter and Adam Wainwright. Both are having great seasons again, with sub-3.00 ERAs, big strikeout numbers and impressive records.

Who's hot Jeff Kent set an Astros record as he extended his career-best hitting streak to 25 games. Who's not The White Sox have dropped six of their past eight games. Line of the day Ricky Ledee, Phillies DH AB R H RBI HR 5 3 3 5 2 On deck Chris Carpenter of the Cardinals looks to go 8-1 as he faces the Rangers tonight. He said it "That was really nice. I was glad to get to see everyone." Ivan Rodriguez, Tigers catcher, on chatting with his former teammates before Detroit faced Florida

Can't beat Cards' duo Dan Connolly Baltimore Sun This is a no-brainer: The Phillies with Roy Halladay and Cliff Lee. Oh, wait, the Phillies wanted to rebuild their farm system and dealt away Lee. How is that move working out? The real winner of this contest is the Cardinals, who finished second and third in the NL Cy Young voting last year with studs Chris Carpenter and Adam Wainwright. Both are having great seasons again, with sub-3.00 ERAs, big strikeout numbers and impressive records.

Chris Butler's goal in the waning minutes of yesterday's Class 1A state championship helped Sparrows Point avoid becoming Pocomoke's sixth straight shutout victim, but it couldn't stop the Warriors from claiming their 12th consecutive victory.The Warriors of Pocomoke City executed their defend-and-attack strategy to perfection and downed the 15th-ranked Pointers, 3-1, at Old Mill."We have nothing to be ashamed of. It was just one of those days," said Sparrows Point first-year coach Bobby Hallet.

Scouting report: O's vs. Blue Jays At SkyDome, Toronto Day Time TV Starters Tonight 7:05 CSN Jason Johnson (3-6, 3.56) vs. Roy Halladay (10-4, 2.87) Tomorrow 7:05 Ch. 54 Travis Driskill (6-2, 4.36) vs. Chris Carpenter (2-1, 5.24) Radio: All games on WBAL (1090 AM) Blue Jays update The Orioles haven't played Toronto all season, so that means 19 of the final 71 games will come against the Blue Jays, including nine of the next 19. Toronto has had a disappointing season and recently unloaded right fielder Raul Mondesi to the Yankees.

The Red Sox aren't expecting Josh Beckett back until late July. He's not expected to face hitters until July 1, and manager Terry Francona says Beckett will need three rehab starts. … Interim Marlins manager Edwin Rodriguez is the first major league manager from Puerto Rico, a distinction that would have gone to the White Sox's Joey Cora if he had been hired by any of the teams with which he has interviewed. … One of Kerry Wood's problems with the Indians has been a lack of work.

Javier Vazquez's return to New York brings with it a certain amount of intrigue. But it also underscores this point: The Yankees again will be the team to beat in 2010. Good teams start with good starting pitching. And after trading for Vazquez and re-signing Andy Pettitte , the Yankees have more of it than any American League team. The group of CC Sabathia , A.J. Burnett , Pettitte and Vazquez matches up with the Giants' top-heavy rotation led by Tim Lincecum , which last season held hitters to a .234 average and struck out 8.2 per nine innings.

BATTING LINE OF THE DAY Henry Blanco, Cubs C AB R H RBI HR 5 3 3 1 1 PITCHING LINE OF THE DAY Aaron Small, Yankees IP H R BB SO 9 5 0 2 3 WHO'S HOT Chris Carpenter of the Cardinals is the first NL pitcher with 10 straight road victories since Bob Gibson won 12 in a row in 1970. WHO'S NOT The A's have been shut out an AL-worst 11 times this season and have lost three of four overall, scoring just one run in the losses.

Although he hasn't revealed it publicly, Orioles manager Lee Mazzilli said before last night's game that he had already made up his mind as to who would be his fifth starter. For Rick Bauer, that could be a good thing. A leading candidate for the final rotation spot, Bauer gave up five runs and seven hits in four innings yesterday as the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Orioles, 5-1. The Cardinals scored all five runs against Bauer in the third, sending 10 batters to the plate. He gave up two walks, four singles and a double in the inning.

Opponent:Toronto Blue Jays Site:SkyDome, Toronto Time:4:05 p.m. TV/Radio:Ch. 13/WBAL (1090 AM) Starters: Orioles' Travis Driskill (6-5, 4.89) vs. Blue Jays' Chris Carpenter (4-2, 4.40)