Watch Chicago Cubs vs St. Louis Cardinals Live sports MLB-stream 13/8

Coming off an emphatic sweep that vaulted them into first place in the NL Central, the St. Louis Cardinals are playing with a profound swagger.

That doesn't bode well for the sputtering Chicago Cubs.Watch Chicago Cubs vs St. Louis Cardinals Live sports MLB-stream 13/8

Minus manager Tony La Russa, the surging Cardinals look to win their fourth in a row Friday night against the Cubs in the first meeting of the season between these clubs at Busch Stadium.

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St. Louis (64-49) began a three-game series at Cincinnati on Monday two games back of the first-place Reds, but left with a one-game lead after outscoring them 21-8. Colby Rasmus hit his first career grand slam in Wednesday's 6-1 win, and Matt Holliday finished the series 7 for 11 with four RBIs.

"If we play like this from here to the end, we've got a heck of a chance," La Russa told the Cardinals' official website. "This is a very solid series in just about every department."Watch Chicago Cubs vs St. Louis Cardinals Live sports MLB-stream 13/8

The series was made even more compelling by comments from Reds second baseman Brandon Phillips, who said he hates the Cardinals. Those remarks spurred a bench-clearing brawl in the first inning Tuesday.

La Russa has been fined an undisclosed amount of money and suspended for the first two games of this series for his role in that skirmish.

By responding to Phillips' comments with a convincing sweep, St. Louis made a strong statement to the Reds that the defending NL Central champion won't go down lightly.

Jake Westbrook (0-0, 3.46 ERA) looks to set the tone for this series when he takes the ball, again seeking his first win with his new team.

After allowing two runs and four hits with seven strikeouts in six innings without a decision in a 9-4 loss to Houston in his St. Louis debut Aug. 2, Westbrook gave up three runs while striking out a season-best nine in seven innings in Saturday's 5-4, 10-inning loss to Florida.

The impressive strikeout totals are surprising for Westbrook, who averaged 5.2 strikeouts per nine innings while pitching for Cleveland. He has doubled that average with the Cardinals (11.1).

"I can't explain (the strikeouts)," the right-hander said. "Probably, for a lot of these guys, it's the first time facing me."

This will be Westbrook's first career appearance against the Cubs (48-67), and he hopes to take advantage of a Chicago team that is sixth in the majors with 865 strikeouts. The Cubs have averaged 9.1 strikeouts per game during their current 2-13 slump.

These teams have split their first six meetings, but the Cardinals should have better luck with a series in St. Louis. They went 7-2 at home against Chicago last season and are 12-3 at Busch Stadium since July 4.

Albert Pujols, 5 for 20 with four homers and eight RBIs versus the Cubs this year, is batting .478 with four home runs and seven RBIs in his last five home games.

Chicago arrives in St. Louis following Thursday's 8-7 loss in San Francisco. The Cubs dropped three of four in that series, with each loss coming by one run. Chicago is 13-29 in one-run games this season, the most such losses in the majors.

"It's just not fun at all," outfielder Marlon Byrd said. "You get sick and tired of losing. One-run games, 10-run games, it just gets old."

Thomas Diamond (0-2, 8.00) will make his third career start when he takes the mound in the opener.

Diamond lasted just three innings in Sunday's 11-4 loss to Cincinnati, allowing five runs and four hits. The right-hander had one strikeout after getting 10 against Milwaukee on Aug. 3 to tie Mark Prior for the most by a Cubs pitcher in his debut since 1920.

Watch Cincinnati Reds vs St. Louis Cardinals MLB Live Stream, Online broadcast, 9/8

The Cincinnati Reds and St. Louis Cardinals have been locked in a battle for NL Central supremacy for most of the season. A three-game series at Great American Ball Park may only tighten the race, especially with Chris Carpenter set to take the mound.Watch Cincinnati Reds vs St. Louis Cardinals MLB Live Stream, Online broadcast, 9/8

The Cardinals ace looks to help his team close the gap on the division-leading Reds in the series opener Monday night.

Cincinnati (64-48) is two games up on St. Louis (61-49) in a race in which the clubs have alternated atop the standings 17 times since May 15.

Continued dominance from Carpenter (12-3, 2.91 ERA) could put the Cardinals on the way to making it 18 by the end of the series. The All-Star right-hander has won eight consecutive starts against the Reds with a 1.09 ERA, beating them three times this year.Watch Cincinnati Reds vs St. Louis Cardinals MLB Live Stream, Online broadcast, 9/8

Carpenter threw a gem in his latest meeting with Cincinnati on June 2, yielding one run and four hits in eight innings of a 4-1 victory.

He enters this matchup red-hot, going 3-0 with a 1.64 ERA in his last five starts -- all of which have resulted in St. Louis wins.

Carpenter allowed two runs and four hits in 7 1/3 innings of an 8-4 victory over Houston on Wednesday.
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The Cardinals, who had the finale of their three-game set at Florida postponed because of rain, have won seven of 12 season meetings with the Reds. The clubs have split six matchups at Cincinnati.

The Reds have won nine of 11, outscoring opponents 70-33 during that span. They extended their winning streak to four by beating Chicago 11-4 on Sunday.

Manager Dusty Baker is looking forward to the matchup with the Cardinals.

"Its time," Baker said. "They had been wanting us to focus on it but we had to focus on the Cubs. To come in here and get a sweep in Chicago is big for us."

Joey Votto had two hits, two RBIs and four runs Sunday. He is hitting .325 with two home runs and three RBIs against St. Louis this season, and is 6 for 15 with a homer off Carpenter.

Jonny Gomes is also hot, going 6 for 17 with two doubles and seven runs in five games. He had a hit, four walks and four runs Sunday.

The left fielder has gone 8 for 14 with two homers and three RBIs in four home games against St. Louis.

"We're playing good right now," said Gomes, 0 for 7 with five strikeouts against Carpenter.

The Reds will give the ball to rookie Mike Leake (7-3, 3.86), who lost his last two starts with a 7.94 ERA.

The right-hander was a victim of a big inning Tuesday, giving up six of seven runs in the second before getting pulled after the fifth in a 7-6 loss at Pittsburgh.

Leake won his only meeting with St. Louis on May 15 by outpitching Adam Wainwright in a 4-3 home victory. He allowed two runs and struck out five in six innings.

Leake held Albert Pujols to a single while walking him twice -- once intentionally -- in that contest.

Pujols has gone 16 for 32 with five homers and 11 RBIs in the last seven games, and has a .381 average with three homers and 12 RBIs against the Reds this year.

Watch Houston Astros vs St. Louis Cardinals mlb online broadcast, August 3

Mired in a frustrating season, the Houston Astros have managed to play well against the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium. That success could continue with Bud Norris on the mound.Watch Houston Astros vs St. Louis Cardinals mlb online broadcast, August 3

The Astros look to extend their season-high winning streak to seven games with a sixth straight road victory over the Cardinals on Tuesday night.

Coming off a 6-3 homestand, Houston (46-59) scored seven times in the final two innings and ruined Jake Westbrook's St. Louis debut with a 9-4 win Monday. The Astros improved to 6-4 in the season series against the Cardinals (59-47), including five straight victories at Busch since dropping the first two games there.

The Astros have outscored their opponents 39-8 during the six-game winning streak, which has continued despite trading stars Roy Oswalt and Lance Berkman.Watch Houston Astros vs St. Louis Cardinals mlb online broadcast, August 3

"The last I would say 10 games there's been a lot of excitement," left fielder Carlos Lee said.

St. Louis, 37-17 at Busch, lost for just the second time in 13 games at home to fall one-half game behind Cincinnati for the NL Central lead. The Cardinals could have a hard time bouncing back against Norris (3-7, 5.63 ERA), who looks to remain perfect at Busch Stadium.Watch Houston Astros vs St. Louis Cardinals mlb online broadcast, August 3
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The right-hander, 4-1 with a 1.60 ERA in five overall outings versus the Cardinals, has allowed one earned run and struck out 22 in 20 innings while winning all three of his starts at St. Louis -- two this season.

"I know what I'm capable of when I do it right," said Norris, who did allow five runs in 7 2/3 innings of an 8-0 home loss in his last appearance against St. Louis on July 9.

Norris gave up one run and struck out seven in six innings of an 8-1 win over the Chicago Cubs on Wednesday for his first victory since winning at St. Louis on May 13. He had gone 0-3 with a 6.13 ERA in seven starts and spent time on the disabled list (biceps tendinitis) between victories.

Albert Pujols is 3 for 14 with two doubles against Norris, but has homered in three straight games. The two-time reigning NL MVP is batting .432 with three home runs and 11 RBIs against the Astros this season.

Jaime Garcia (9-4, 2.33) looks to continue his success at home and become the Cardinals' third 10-game winner when he makes his first career appearance against the Astros.

Among the major-league ERA leaders, the rookie left-hander went 2-0 with a 2.51 ERA in five July starts. Both wins came at home, where Garcia is 4-1 with a 1.46 ERA in nine outings.

He allowed three runs in six innings of an 8-7, 13-inning road win over the New York Mets on Wednesday.

Garcia will try to contain Houston's Jeff Keppinger, who is 8 for 16 in his last four games after recording two hits and four RBIs on Monday. The second baseman is 13 for 30 with 11 RBIs in eight games against the Cardinals in 2010.

"I guess I've got guys in front of me getting on base, giving me opportunities to drive in runs, and fortunately I've been coming through," Keppinger said.

Watch Los Angeles Dodgers vs St. Louis Cardinals live stream online Thursday, July 15

Watch Los Angeles Dodgers vs St. Louis Cardinals live stream online Thursday, July 15 – Information of the match between Los Angeles Dodgers vs St. Louis Cardinals and schedule TV on Thursday, July 15  8:15 PM ET in the MLB Live. The Los Angeles Dodgers vs St. Louis Cardinals meet in a matchup between two of the biggest surprises in Baseball. So guys, Which team will be the winner of this match? Los Angeles Dodgers vs St. Louis Cardinals ? Check it out yourself ! Don’t miss to watch Los Angeles Dodgers vs St. Louis Cardinals live stream on your PC. We hope The fans of both Los Angeles Dodgers vs St. Louis Cardinals can enjoy with the live score, Los Angeles Dodgers vs St. Louis Cardinals preview, recaps and highlights here.

The St. Louis Cardinals stumbled into the All-Star break, and staff ace Chris Carpenter is suddenly slumping.

While a start against the Los Angeles Dodgers might be enough to help get Carpenter back on track, it could spell trouble for his team.

In the opener of a four-game series Thursday night at Busch Stadium, Carpenter tries to continue his dominance of a Los Angeles team that has given the Cardinals fits lately.

St. Louis (47-41) got off to an 18-9 start, but has gone 29-33 since to fall one game back of NL Central-leading Cincinnati. The Cardinals entered the break losers of four of six and are 4-7 since June 30.

The slide has come despite the fact Albert Pujols has five homers and 12 RBIs in his last 12 games, and Matt Holliday has five home runs and 12 RBIs in his last six.

While the Cardinals are getting plenty of production from those two All-Stars, Carpenter (9-3, 3.29 ERA) has been slumping.

After posting a 2.70 ERA while losing just once in his first 17 starts, Carpenter has yielded 12 runs over nine innings while losing his last two. Last Thursday against Colorado, the right-hander gave up four runs and nine hits in six innings of a 4-2 loss. He has not lost three consecutive starts in a single season since dropping four in a row July 29-Aug. 13, 2002, while with Toronto.

"I've got to make better pitches," Carpenter said. "Mechanically, I'm not there. I'm not where I need to be. Bottom line I have to get better."

The three-time All-Star has rarely been better than when he's faced Los Angeles.

Carpenter is 5-0 with a 1.88 ERA in seven starts against the Dodgers, and 2-0 with a 0.43 ERA in three outings against them at St. Louis' new Busch Stadium. At Dodger Stadium on June 8, Carpenter allowed six hits in seven shutout innings, but the Cardinals went on to lose 1-0.

Los Angeles (49-39) swept that three-game series at Chavez Ravine and also swept St. Louis in last season's NLDS, giving the Dodgers six consecutive wins in meetings between these clubs.

The Dodgers, two games behind first-place San Diego in the NL West, outscored the Cardinals 17-7 in the June series, as Blake DeWitt had seven RBIs and Manny Ramirez added three.

Ramirez, who has not played since June 29 due to a strained right hamstring, is eligible to come off the disabled list for this game, but it is uncertain if he'll be activated.

Andre Ethier has carried the Dodgers' offense in Ramirez's absence. The first-time All-Star is batting .390 with two home runs and seven RBIs in 10 games this month.

Los Angeles' pitching staff is being led by Thursday's probable starter Clayton Kershaw (9-4, 2.96), who has yielded two runs or fewer in nine of his last 12 starts.

The left-hander gave up two runs and seven hits with a season-high 12 strikeouts -- one off his career best -- in eight innings of last Thursday's 3-2 win over the Cubs, while not walking a batter for the second time in his career.

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"He's always learning something. That's the best compliment I could pay this kid," manager Joe Torre said. "He's able to throw more than one pitch for a strike. He's got a lot of weapons out there."

Kershaw, tied for second in the NL with 128 strikeouts, allowed three runs and four hits while striking out 10 in seven innings of a 4-3 win over St. Louis on June 9. He is 2-0 with a 2.27 ERA in five career starts versus the Cardinals, and 1-0 with a 0.60 ERA in two outings at St.
So where can i watch Los Angeles Dodgers vs St. Louis Cardinals live online video streaming? Here is a way that you can watch it, just hit HERE. The links will be updates before schedule the game live feed and stream coverage on 7/15. Stay tune in rugby if you want to watch another match. Don’t worry we will hard work to get video broadcast tv online feed for free from embeding popular website like Justin TV or Ustream, P2P, freedocast and Sopcast for the Los Angeles Dodgers vs St. Louis Cardinals games.

Watch Cardinals vs Rockies Live Stream mlb tv online July 06

Coors Field has long had a reputation as a home run hitter's ballpark. Albert Pujols hasn't been able to take advantage of that in recent years.

Watch Cardinals vs Rockies LIVE
8:40 PM ET, July 6, 2010
Coors Field, Denver, Colorado

Starting Pitchers
St. Louis: Hawksworth (2-5, 5.02 ERA)
Colorado: Francis (2-3, 4.67 ERA)

Pujols and the Cardinals meet the Colorado Rockies for the first time this season in the start a three-game series Tuesday night.

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Pujols, who will make his ninth All-Star appearance next week, has nine homers in 32 career games in Denver. But the reigning two-time NL MVP has none in eight games there since May 30, 2007, batting .250 with four RBIs.

Pujols, though, remains the Cardinals' most dangerous batter. He's hitting .305 and leads the club with 20 homers, 60 RBIs and 91 hits -- one more than former Rockies slugger Matt Holliday.

While Pujols has five homers and 10 RBIs in the last eight games, Holliday is homerless in 12 games after going deep in four straight.

St. Louis (45-37) resumes play after a 7-1 win over Milwaukee on Sunday for a split of the four-game series. Adam Wainwright celebrated his selection as a first-time All-Star by throwing a five-hitter and chipping in a three-run double.

"I was grinning. You can't not grin unless you're Albert Pujols and you do it every year," Wainwright said of being picked.

Also representing the Cardinals at the All-Star game will be Yadier Molina as starting catcher, Chris Carpenter and Holliday.

St. Louis' only win in seven contests versus Colorado last year came Sept. 26 at Coors where Wainwright outpitched Ubaldo Jimenez, who's 14-1 this season and is headed to the Midsummer Classic with Troy Tulowitzki.

Colorado (44-38) took three of four from San Francisco after a 4-3 win in 15 innings Sunday. Todd Helton's sacrifice fly scored Dexter Fowler with the winning run.

"That's just an incredible game to win," manager Jim Tracy said. "It would have been very, very difficult to take to be on the short end of it. I thank God we have a day off (Monday), I really do, because that is going to be very, very beneficial to a lot of people."

The Rockies' Jeff Francis (2-3, 4.67 ERA) will try to bounce back from his shortest -- and worst -- outing of 2010 when he gets the call Tuesday. The left-hander was tagged for a career high-tying eight runs and seven hits in three innings of a 13-3 loss to San Diego on Wednesday.

The best outing of his career came at Coors against St. Louis, tossing a two-hitter with eight strikeouts in a 7-0 win July 24, 2006. He's 4-1 with a 2.61 ERA in seven career starts against the Cardinals but hasn't faced them since May 2008 due to shoulder surgery that sidelined him all of last year.

Former reliever Blake Hawksworth (2-5, 5.02) will make his third straight start for St. Louis and his first against Colorado.

The right-hander allowed two homers among six hits Thursday and struck out a career-high seven in six innings against Milwaukee, but he received no runs of support as the Cardinals fell 4-1.

Hawksworth has no record and a 9.00 ERA in three appearances versus the Rockies.

Colorado's Clint Barmes, who will try to match the longest hitting streak of his career, is batting .408 during a 12-game run with three homers and 10 RBIs. Barmes' only hit off Hawksworth was a three-run homer in a 10-1 win June 6, 2009.