Cardinals' Matt Carpenter: Ends two-week power drought

Carpenter went 1-for-5 with a homer and two strikeouts Wednesday in an 8-1 win over the Mets.

Analysis:

The long ball was his first in two weeks, dating back to Aug. 10 against the Reds. Carpenter cut his strikeout rate earlier this year, but has backslid this month, whiffing 16 times in 16 games; accordingly, he's hitting only .219 in August. Nonetheless, Carpenter has been enormously productive when healthy as the Cards' leadoff hitter, as he'd easily be on pace to clear 100 runs (something he's done in two of the past three seasons) if not for the time he spent on the DL due to an oblique injury.