Lineups: Whitesell gets the nod at first

With veteran Tony Clark being waived by the Arizona Diamondbacks last Sunday, the 2nd half of the season will be an open audition of sorts at the first base position. The first contender to claim the job is Josh Whitesell. Whitesell was recalled from Triple-A Reno to fill Clark’s roster spot, and will be in the lineup tonight as the D-Backs start a 3-game series against the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium.

Whitesell hit .214 with 9 rbis in 56 at-bats earlier this season with the D-Backs, and has enjoyed a productive season in Reno, batting .313 with 7 homers and 45 runs batted in.

The D-Backs (38-51) come into the series playing possibly their best baseball of the season. Arizona won 5 of 7 on their last homestand before the All-Star break, which included their first series sweep of the year, a 3-game whitewashing of the San Diego Padres.

St. Louis (49-42) is currently leading the National League Central by two games over the Milwaukee Brewers. The Redbirds are led by All-Star first baseman Albert Pujols, who is a legitimate threat to become the first player to win a batting Triple Crown since 1967 and the first National Leaguer to do it since Joe Medwick accomplished it in 1937. Pujols currently leads the NL in homers (32), rbi (87) and is 4th in batting at .332, just 14 points behind league-leader Hanley Ramirez of Florida.

Here’s tonight’s starting lineups…

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