~ St. Louis begins interleague play tonight vs. Royals.

ST. LOUIS -- Chris Carpenter is every bit as dominating this season, with very little to show for it.

Carpenter, who won 21 games and the NL Cy Young award last year, has a 1.98 ERA that is among the best in the major leagues. A lack of support has saddled him with a so-so 3-2 record after nine starts.

His teammates hope to do something about that tonight at Kansas City.

"He does a great job for us, and we do nothing for him while he's in the game," leadoff hitter David Eckstein said. "Hopefully, we start scoring runs for him so he can start getting some victories."

Carpenter got his fourth no-decision on Sunday, allowing three unearned runs in six innings due to three Cardinals errors. He's surrendered only two earned runs in 26 innings in those four games.

In his two losses, he's allowed only three earned runs in 14 innings. With any luck, he could have seven or eight victories and a head start on another Cy Young by now.

"He's on a bit of a rough streak, but not for him pitching-wise," reliever Randy Flores said after giving up the go-ahead hit on Sunday. "Someone's letting him down, either us or our defense or offense."

So far, no one's heard any complaints.

"He's going through it really stoically, and it's got to turn around for him," Flores said. "I hope more people realize he is on top of his game, he really is."