The St. Louis Cardinals head west to battle the LA Dodgers

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The St. Louis Cardinals head west to battle the LA Dodgers

The St. Louis Cardinals were expected to compete for the World Series this year, but with a slumping slugger on the squad they have yet to hit their stride. When they take on the LA Dodgers on Thursday they hope to begin a winning streak.

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The Cardinals look for another big offensive effort when Jaime Garcia takes the mound opposite Kuroda in the opener of a four-game set with the Dodgers on Thursday night in Los Angeles.

St. Louis (5-7) has won three of four while compiling a .356 batting average with 15 doubles, nine homers and 37 runs. Over the first eight games, the Cardinals hit .216 with seven doubles, and three homers while being held to fewer than four runs in all but one contest.

Their surge continued Wednesday after collecting season highs with 18 hits, including eight doubles, and in scoring en route to a 15-5 romp over Arizona for their first series win this season.

Garcia (1-0, 0.60 ERA) has been so good that he hasn’t needed much support through two starts. He’s struck out 18 in 15 innings while being backed by just two runs in each game.

The left-hander turned in another impressive performance Saturday at San Francisco, allowing one run and four hits with nine strikeouts in six innings. Closer Ryan Franklin allowed two runs in the ninth for a 3-2 loss.

Garcia’s outstanding pitching comes after he went 4-2 with a 1.14 ERA though his first nine starts of 2010. He finished 13-8 with a 2.70 ERA, but struggled in his only appearance against the Dodgers. Garcia threw 82 pitches over 3 1-3 innings, allowing two runs and eight hits in the Cardinals’ 8-4 win on July 16.

St. Louis also has to be pleased by Albert Pujols’ sudden spike in production. The three-time NL MVP broke out of an early slump by going 5 for 8 with two RBIs over the last two games. He was 6 for 40 with one homer and four RBIs through the first 10 contests.

Pujols, though, has a .170 average with one homer and five RBIs over his last 13 games at Dodger Stadium, and has gone 1 for 9 with three strikeouts against Kuroda (2-0, 1.72).

The right-hander is off to his best start in four seasons in the majors, and he threw a gem in a 4-0 win at San Diego on Saturday, scattering six hits in 8 2-3 innings.

The Cardinals are 17-7 in their last 24 against the National League West and they take down the Dodgers in game one of the series.

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