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With their lead in the NL Central rapidly disappearing, the St. Louis Cardinals hope the return of
Jim Edmonds
can provide the boost the team desperately needs.
Edmonds and the Cardinals continue a three-game series against the
San Diego Padres
on Tuesday, with both teams trying to hold on to slim division leads.
The Cardinals (80-75) center fielder has been sidelined since mid-August due to post-concussion syndrome caused by a June
incident when he ran into the center field wall in Chicago against the
White Sox
. He didn't join the team on a 1-7 road trip because of concerns about what effect flying would have on his condition, but
was cleared by doctors on Monday to return.
''I'm ready to play,'' Edmonds said before Monday's game. ''That's what I've been told. I'm here to do what needs to be done.''
Edmonds homered in a pinch-hit appearance in the fourth inning of St. Louis' 6-5 loss to the Padres (84-72) on Monday. It
was his first home run since Aug. 10 and tied the game at five before San Diego catcher
Mike Piazza
drove in the go-ahead run in the seventh.
''What a way to get us back into the game,'' manager
Tony La Russa
said. ''If this was a movie, we would have won the game, but we didn't.''
The Padres, who have won 10 of 13, increased their NL West lead to two games over the idle
Los Angeles Dodgers
. If the Padres lose their lead to the Dodgers, they could still reach the postseason as the NL wild card if they finish ahead
of the
Philadelphia Phillies
, who are currently tied with Los Angeles.
''We don't care about them,'' said San Diego right fielder
Brian Giles
, who went 2-for-3 and drove in three runs. ''We're trying to take care of business ourselves and not depend on other teams
helping us out.''
St. Louis (80-75) is just 2 1/2 games ahead of the
Houston Astros
following Monday's loss and Houston's 5-4 win over the Phillies. The Cardinals led the division by 6 1/2 games on Sept. 7,
but have gone 5-11 since - including their current six game-losing streak.
St. Louis will look to get back on track when the team sends reigning NL Cy Young Award winner
Chris Carpenter
(15-7, 2.93 ERA) to the mound.
Carpenter's bid for consecutive Cy Youngs suffered a setback after he allowed six runs and nine hits through eight innings
of a 6-5 loss to the Astros on Thursday.
''When you have your best pitcher, one of the best pitchers in the game, and you score five runs, sometimes you say it's enough,''
Albert Pujols
said. ''But obviously it wasn't.''
Carpenter had been 5-0 with a 1.46 ERA in his previous seven starts.
The right-hander is 2-1 with a 2.89 ERA in four starts against the Padres, but has not faced them this season.
Woody Williams
(10-5, 3.53) looks to win his fourth consecutive start when he takes the mound on Tuesday for San Diego. The right-hander
is 6-1 with a 2.92 ERA in his last eight starts.
He pitched 5 2-3 innings against the
Arizona Diamondbacks
on Thursday, giving up one unearned run and five hits in a 3-1 victory.
Williams is 0-2 with a 6.00 ERA in two career starts against the Cardinals, for whom he pitched from 2001-04. He won a career-high
18 games while pitching for St. Louis in 2003.
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