The Cardinals’ Bud Norris club

The St. Louis Cardinals have been held to no runs by 11 opposing starters in the first 59 games in 2010.

Bud Norris (AP/Pat Sullivan)When the St. Louis Cardinals lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers by a 1-0 score Tuesday night, it not only wasted an excellent start by ace Chris Carpenter, it continued the team’s futility count to 11, where futility is defined by being shut out by the opposing starting pitcher.

The latest to hold St. Louis’ offense scoreless was Dodger Hiroki Kuroda, augmented by Los Angeles’ pen.

The first shutout starter the Cardinals faced this season was Houston Astro Bud Norris. The right-hander carries a 6.80 ERA this season, which includes his gem against St. Louis back on April 15.  He is currently on the disabled list.

In six of these 11 games this season, the Cardinals did not score against the opposing relievers, either. In other words, they were kept off the scoreboard the entire game.

Here is the full list, thanks to researcher Tom Orf. I added the 2010 and career ERAs for reference.

Not every pitcher deserves to be in the Bud Norris Club, but many do. Five of the 11 have 2010 ERAs over 4.80, including their scoreless stints against St. Louis. Seven of them have career ERAs of 4.35 or more.

Opposing Starters Allowing No Runs vs. Cardinals, 2010

Player Date Tm Rslt App,Dec IP H R ER BB SO 2010 ERA Career ERA
Huroki Kuroda 6/8/2010 LAD W 1-0 GS-7 7 4 0 0 1 6 3.30 3.65
Carlos Silva 5/29/2010 CHC W 5-0 GS-7 ,W 7 2 0 0 0 11 2.93 4.62
Kevin Correia 5/26/2010 SDP W 2-1 GS-6 6 5 0 0 6 5 5.03 4.42
Jon Garland 5/25/2010 SDP W 1-0 GS-7 ,W 7 6 0 0 2 7 2.68 4.35
Anibal Sanchez 5/19/2010 FLA W 5-1 GS-7 ,W 7 4 0 0 2 8 3.18 3.73
Jeff Karstens 5/8/2010 PIT W 2-0 GS-6 ,W 6 3 0 0 2 4 4.81 5.09
Zach Duke 5/7/2010 PIT L 3-4 GS-7 6 9 3 0 2 7 5.43 4.39
Kyle Kendrick 5/5/2010 PHI W 4-0 GS-7 ,W 7 6 0 0 2 3 4.95 4.71
Barry Zito 4/24/2010 SFG W 2-0 GS-8 ,W 8 3 0 0 3 10 3.15 3.81
Johan Santana 4/17/2010 NYM W 2-1 GS-7 7 4 0 0 1 9 2.76 3.10
Bud Norris 4/15/2010 HOU W 5-1 GS-5 ,W 5 4 1 0 3 9 6.80 5.53
Average 4.09 4.31

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