The Los Angeles Dodgers continue their beer stadium road trip with a three-game series beginning Monday night against the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium. This would be a time to catch up with old friend Rafael Furcal, traded to St. Louis on July 31, but the shortstop is injured. It is unknown if Furcal will play Monday, or during this series.
Furcal tripped at Wrigley Field before Saturday's game and severely sprained his thumb. Furcal missed 62 games this season on two disabled list stints with the Dodgers. "I was feeling good about getting in there every day, doing some things to help the team, and this happens," Furcal told Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Furcal missed games on Saturday and Sunday, and his return is unknown.
Rookie Nathan Eovaldi will start for the Dodgers, and it will likely be one of his last starts of the season. Eovaldi has thrown 120 innings between Double A and the majors, after throwing 85 innings in 2010. The plan to limit his innings means a trip to the bullpen to round out the season in September. Eovaldi is 1-1 with a 2.12 ERA in three starts with the Dodgers this season.
Chris Carpenter is 8-8 with a 3.68 ERA this season for the Cardinals, and takes the hill in the opener. In his last 11 starts, Carpenter is 7-1 with a 2.71 ERA and is averaging more than seven innings per start. St. Louis has lost three of their last four series and is 5-7 in their last 12 games. The Cardinals begin play Monday eight and a half games behind the Milwaukee Brewers in the National League Central.
Monday night's 5:15 p.m. PDT game will be televised by Prime Ticket. For more news and information about the Dodgers, be sure to read True Blue LA.