Kyle Lohse expecting a better Roy Halladay in Game 1

St. Louis Cardinals righthander Kyle Lohse isn't putting very much meaning into a successful recent outing against Roy Halladay and the Phillies. Lohse will oppose Halladay in Saturday's opening of the National League division series at Citizens Bank Park.

On Sept. 19, Lohse earned a 4-3 win over Halladay in Philadelphia. Lohse didn't allow an earned run in 7 1/3 innings, striking out five and walking one. Meanwhile, Halladay allowed four earned runs in eight innings.

"He had an uncharacteristic day where he gave up some runs," Lohse said of Halladay during a Friday press conference at Citizens Bank Park. "I was out there to throw up as many zeros as I could."

So Lohse doesn't want to develop a false sense of security.

"I'm not taking too much out of that last game," he said. "I know they had just clinched, so I know I've been on teams where you kind of hit a little lull after you clinch and I'm not expecting it to go exactly the way it did last time."

The Phillies had clinched the East Division title two days earlier with a 9-2 win over the Cardinals. Plus Lohse said it was a break not to have to face Ryan Howard, who was resting a sore foot.

"Howard wasn't in the lineup last time so I got a different look."

Lohse, who battled a finger injury earlier in the year, finished strong and is a major reason the Cardinals are still competing.

This season Lohse was 14-8 with a 3.39 ERA in 188 1/3 innings. He went 2-0 with a 1.37 ERA in four September starts. Lohse last threw on Sept. 24, going seven innings, allowing one earned run and striking out eight in a no-decision against the Chicago Cubs.

Lohse helped the Phillies earn the first of their five consecutive playoff berths in 2007 when he was acquired from the Cincinnati Reds on July 30th of that year. He went 3-0 with a 4.72 ERA while making 13 appearances, 11 starts.

This will be his fifth trip to the postseason. Lohse made three straight playoff appearances (2002-2004) as a member of the Twins in addition to his solo trip with the '07 Phillies, where he only threw 1 1/3 innings of relief.

He has appeared in six postseason games, but has made just one start.

From his time in Philadelphia, Lohse knows what he is getting himself into while pitching in a hitter-friendly ballpark.

"I've pitched in this ballpark for half a season and the dimensions are very favorable to the hitters so you've got to keep the ball on the ground," Lohse said.

Lohse said he didn't want to divulge too much strategy, but talked in vague terms about pitching at Citizens Bank Bark.

"My main focus is going to be keeping the ball on the ground as much as I can because with this lineup, they've got a lot of guys all through that can put the ball out of the park," he said. "I've just got to work on keeping it down."

Contact staff writer Marc Narducci at 856-779-3225, mnarducci@phillynews.com, or @sjnard on Twitter.