Kyle Lohse (26) throws during the second inning of game against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-US PRESSWIRE
(The Cardinal Nation Show) -- The
Cardinals will go with recent history rather than the more distant past
when they send Kyle Lohse to the mound Friday night at Atlanta against
the Braves in the first wild-card play-in game.
Lohse never has won a postseason game in
nine appearances, four of them starts, and is 0-4 with a 5.54 ERA. One
of his worst games of this season came at Atlanta on May 30, when he
gave up five runs in five innings to the Braves in a 10-7 loss.
But Lohse finished the season with a 16-3
record, the best percentage (.842) of any major league starter, and
manager Mike Matheny rewarded him with the start.
"It feels real good to know they trust you
enough to pitch in a one-game playoff. That's something you dream about
as a kid," said Lohse, 33, who almost surely will be leaving as a free
agent.
Never regarded as a No. 1 starter before in his career, Lohse said he wasn't going to try to sway anybody's judgment now.
"I'm not going to try to tout myself," he
said. "I'm not saying, 'Hey, look at my numbers. I should be looked at
as something different.'
"It's not up to me to validate myself. People can think what they want. I don't really care."
Matheny, however, looks at Lohse as "a Cy
Young (award) candidate, a guy who's been as consistent as you could
ever ask any starter to be."
The Cardinals lost five of six games to
the Braves this year and don't have strong left-handed answers to a
Braves lineup that features four left-handed-hitting regulars and
switch-hitting Chipper Jones.