not to be outdone by senator al...

...and as if i needed another reason to want to throw my arms around chris carpenter, he goes and outduels roger clemens:

Twirling a three-hit, no-walk, nine-strikeout shutout gem at the Astros and Clemens on Sunday, Carpenter became the first National League pitcher to win 14 games, in a 3-0 victory that consumed all of 1 hour 59 minutes.

The win at Busch Stadium kept the Cardinals' lead at a silly 13 games over the Chicago Cubs in the National League Central Division, gave them a series sweep that boosted them 27 games over .500 and lowered Carpenter's earned-run average over his past six starts to a ridiculous 0.36.

That means he has given up only two runs (homers by shortstops Felipe Lopez of Cincinnati and Alex Cintron of Arizona) in 50 2/3 innings in those six consecutive wins while allowing 20 hits, walking just seven and striking out 54. The Cardinals have devoured division opposition this season at 29-9, and nobody has feasted more than Carpenter, who is 9-0 with a 1.28 ERA against the Central this season and 3-0 with an 0.38 ERA against Houston.

Labels: birds on bat