Seeking to shore up a rotation with gaping holes in the back end after the loss of Penny and Lohse, St. Louis acquired pitcher Jeff Suppan, a veteran of the 2006 World Series champion Cardinals and the MVP of the 2006 NLCS. Suppan, increasingly ineffective since he left St. Louis for the Milwaukee Brewers following the World Series victory, had an ERA of 7.84 when he was released by the Brewers in early June.