ST. LOUIS (MCT) - The pitching checklist insists something remarkable is going on within the Cardinals' starting rotation. Its members disagree. | MLB page

Considered a liability before the club signed free agent Kyle Lohse in March, Redbirds starters instead have helped transport a team assigned low expectations into playoff contention as the schedule resumes Thursday against the San Diego Padres.

"I know there were people who thought (the starters) were going to be terrible. But the important thing is no one who was given the ball thought that way," said Braden Looper, who enters the second half of his second season as a starter with a 9-7 record and 4.25 earned-run average, down from last season's 4.94.

The Cardinals' rotation ranks seventh in the NL with a 4.13 ERA but leads with a 40-23 record. Much credit goes to an ability to hold opponents early with a pitch-to-contact mentality.

A year ago, the rotation was key to the team's 78-84 finish, going 48-72 with a flammable 5.04 ERA. Among the 2007 opening day rotation, only Looper and Adam Wainwright held on to their roles the entire season.

This year's work is key to the Cardinals remaining the only NL team without a four-game losing streak.

"I think as a group, and individually, we've done pretty well this year," said Joel Pineiro, who has gone 3-4 around two trips to the disabled list. "It could always be better. I know I want to get better. But I think our record says something. With few exceptions, we've given the team a chance to win,"

No collection of starters has fewer than the Cardinals' 161 walks in 565 innings. Only the Pittsburgh Pirates have fewer than the Cardinals' 320 strikeouts. The high walks-low strikeouts combination works because of an upgraded defense. Pitching coach Dave Duncan believes the formula can work for another 66 games, barring injury.

"The only reason you wouldn't think it could continue is if these guys were doing something more than they're capable of doing," Duncan said. "I don't see any one of the guys who have been in the rotation doing something extra special. Will their win-loss records duplicate themselves in the second half? There's no way to know. You don't know how the team's going to play or whether they're going to be in position to get wins.

"As a group, should they pitch as well in the second half as they have in the first? I think so."

Leading the wild-card race by a half-game over the Milwaukee Brewers, the Cardinals have put much faith in the pending return of Wainwright from a sprained right middle finger and Chris Carpenter from elbow ligament-replacement surgery.

Rejected as overpriced by last winter's free-agent market, Lohse (11-2) has been a model of consistency in 20 starts, providing stability around the absences of Wainwright and Pineiro and almost weekly auditions of fifth starters.

Since signing a one-year, $4.25 million deal, Lohse credits Duncan's meticulous game plans for freeing him mentally.

"Anybody who is able to command four different pitches can really benefit from good knowledge of the opposition," Duncan said. "He's learning how to really dissect the opposition and how to envision himself using what he has against them."

As Lohse explained recently, "This is pretty much who I am. I've shown this is what I can do. Dunc' and (bullpen coach) Marty (Mason) have helped me do it more consistently."

The current rotation includes three pitchers who have worked in relief within the past two years. Another, lefthander Jaime Garcia, will become the third rookie given a start this season.

Duncan and Mason frequently are credited for assisting such transformations; however, Duncan is reluctant to look past his 13th season with the club.

At 62, Duncan approaches the end of a two-year contract. "A lot of things good could happen between now and then," he said. "A lot of things bad could happen between now and then. I don't know. I don't know how I'm going to feel when the season's over."

Duncan recites the makeup of a rotation that has undergone massive changes since the team led the major leagues in ERA in 2005. Lohse and Looper are pending free agents. Todd Wellemeyer is arbitration-eligible and unlikely to remain a bargain. De facto ace Wainwright hasn't pitched since feeling a pop in his finger during his start June 7 in Houston. Carpenter, the 2005 NL Cy Young Award winner, hasn't worked a major league game since opening day 2007.

"I have no idea what the situation is going to be like …" Duncan said. "It could very well be a great situation. At the same time it could be a difficult situation. You don't know yet. So I can't think about next year."

Even given the apparent season-ending loss of Mark Mulder following last Wednesday's 16-pitch outing, Duncan can get by with four steady veterans and a revolving fifth starter.

"I think it's good enough that we'll be competitive from here to the end as long as we don't have any freak things happen to us," Duncan said.

Wainwright's return is considered likely sometime in August. Carpenter continues to progress following a scare that set him back last month.

The Cardinals have received 13 combined starts from Brad Thompson, Mulder and rookies Mitchell Boggs and Mike Parisi. Garcia is set to make his major-league debut Sunday against San Diego. Until Wainwright or Carpenter returns, there is vulnerability.

Partly due to indifferent offensive and bullpen support, Pineiro has won once since April 29. Wellemeyer, NL pitcher of the month in May, is winless since June 5 and has been protecting a tender right elbow. The Cardinals have been outscored 49-20 in his past five outings. Healthy, Wellemeyer is considered a transformed pitcher barely a year after the Kansas City Royals dumped him from their bullpen.

"Todd couldn't have done it with the mind-set he had when he came over here," Duncan said. "He's changed his whole mental approach to do what he's doing. You can be the guy who throws 96, 97 but can't get anybody out. Or you can be the guy who throws 92, 93 who is a good pitcher. You make a choice. He made the choice: He wanted to be a good pitcher, and he learned the effort level he could use to work the strike zone."

Wellemeyer averaged more than 4.5 walks per nine innings before the Royals designated him for assignment. He has averaged fewer than 2.8 walks per nine innings this season while leading the staff in strikeouts. A year ago Looper compiled a 1.40 ERA in 12 wins and a 9.79 ERA in 12 losses. He has since smoothed his delivery and developed greater consistency.

"As a relief pitcher, you don't really pitch. You throw. You're more susceptible to using a more violent delivery as a reliever than as a starter," Duncan explained. "As a starter, it's more important that you're making pitches. To do that, you have to control your delivery in order to repeat it. He's really smoothed his delivery out. He's much more consistent."

It is a shared trait within a surprising team's most surprising asset.

(c) 2008, St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.