The Cardinals look to close out their second consecutive sweep by sending their hottest pitcher to the mound on Sunday. Chris Carpenter has won three straight decisions and gave up just one run on four hits in his last start, against Pittsburgh.
Carpenter has pitched well against everyone in the Nationals' lineup. The only Nationals player who has had any success against Carpenter is Jose Vidro, who is on the disabled list. Carpenter will be making his 11th start of the season, a team high. Against the Expos last season, Carpenter went 2-0, allowing just three earned runs in 16 innings.

Offensively, the Cardinals have shown they can score in bunches, but more importantly have shown they can produce at the right times. Both John Mabry (.611) and Albert Pujols (.412) have had consistent success against Nationals starter Livan Hernandez.

Pitching matchup:
WAS: RHP Livan Hernandez
• 7-2, 3.70 ERA in 2005
• 0-0, 5.40 vs. STL in 2004

STL: RHP Chris Carpenter
• 7-2, 3.78 ERA in 2005
• 2-0, 1.68 E.R.A. vs MON in 2004

Player to watch
Utilityman Mabry has a .611 batting average against Hernandez. He is 11-for-18 with five RBIs.

Quotable
"He's been ready to pitch. He's been going at it. He probably tried too hard. These guys are that way; they struggle a little and sometimes go too hard. He's been competing as hard as anyone out there. Usually he and [pitching coach Dave Duncan] will have some good conversations and get back on track. I'm sure that was productive." -- manager Tony La Russa on Jeff Suppan's second win in his last six starts

On the Internet
MLB.TV
Gameday Audio
• Gameday
• Official game notes

On television
• WAS: MASN; WDCA
• STL: WB11-TV

On radio
• WAS: WFED
• STL: KMOX 1120

Quick hits
Suppan allowed just four hits in seven innings of work on Saturday to snap a two-game losing streak. ... Jim Edmonds' 100th home run at Busch Stadium makes him just the third Cardinal to manage that feat. The other two are Ray Lankford (123) and Mark McGwire (119). ... Catcher Yadier Molina hit his first home run at Busch this year. It came on an 0-2 pitch. That makes him the first Cardinal to hit a home run on an 0-2 count this season. He has driven in seven runs in his last four games and has hits in six of his last seven starts. ... Saturday's game was the fifth sellout of the year at Busch and second consecutive. The official attendance was 49,123. ... The Cardinals' 32 wins in 48 games mark the best start for a St. Louis squad since the 1944 Cardinals went 32-16.

On deck
• Monday: at Colorado, 7:05 p.m. CT
• Tuesday: at Colorado, 8:05 p.m. CT
• Wednesday: at Colorado, 8:05 p.m. CT