The time is now for Kyle Lohse to once more prove he's worthy of the 4-year, $40 million contract the Cardinals signed him to in 2007.
After a 15-win season with a sub 4.00 ERA in his first year with the Cardinals, Lohse has been plagued by injuries in his last two years, struggling to a combined 10-18 record.
While, the Cardinals remain slightly skeptical as to which Lohse will perform, there is a lot of reason for optimism. Despite a disappointing final spring appearance, Lohse was one of the Cardinals best pitchers during spring training.
In five starts through March 25, Lohse went 2-0 in 24 innings and a 1.88 ERA. He tallied 15 strikeouts with zero walks. Now, Cardinals faithful have already realized that spring training can hardly be a completely accurate indicator as how a pitcher will pitch during the regular season.
For example, the Cardinals worst starting pitcher during the spring, Jaime Garcia, turned in a masterful complete game 4-hit shutout against the Padres yesterday afternoon to get the Cardinals in the win column.
While the Cardinals offense struggled to score runs in the opening series against the Padres, their season's success lies within the success of the starting pitching, especially with the absence of Adam Wainwright.
Carpenter and Garcia both pitched well enough to win, while Westbrook struggled. Lohse may be the X-factor in the rotation as he has shown glimpses of success, while struggling when injured or not fully healthy.
The Cardinals look to rebound from their opening series loss against NL Central foe Pittsburgh and will send Lohse, Kyle McClellan and Chris Carpenter to the mound in the three game series at Busch Stadium.
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