updated 9:49 p.m. ET Sept. 2, 2005

HOUSTON - Cardinals manager Tony La Russa tried his best to be diplomatic when he was asked Friday if Roger Clemens should be considered for his eighth Cy Young Award.

La Russa is understandably biased toward his own ace, Chris Carpenter. The Cardinals right-hander has won a majors-best 19 games and his 2.29 ERA is second only to the 1.51 mark by the 43-year-old Clemens.

“He’s had another great year, the ERA stands for itself,” La Russa said. “I would never say anything to take away from Roger’s year, but I think Chris has got everything working for him. ... His level of outstanding work is just getting better and better and better. He started good, and he’s gone to great.”

Carpenter (19-4) and Clemens (11-7) face each other Saturday in the second game of a weekend series between the NL Central’s top two teams.

Carpenter has won 11 straight decisions over his last 14 starts, and was the NL starter in the All-Star game. He has also won nine straight road starts, the first NL pitcher to accomplish the feat since Bob Gibson had 12 in a row in 1970.

“With all due respect to the year that Roger is having, which is phenomenal, I just think Chris has done it all,” La Russa said.

Carpenter is 3-0 against the Astros this season, with one victory against each of the Astros’ top three pitchers: Clemens, Andy Pettitte and Roy Oswalt.

Clemens has lost his last three starts, the last two in which the Astros have been shut out after a 5-2 loss. Four of his seven losses have come in games in which Houston didn’t score.

Astros manager Phil Garner said he’d put Clemens first, second and third on his ballot if given a Cy Young vote. The actual balloting is done among selected members of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America.

“It is really tough because Carpenter and also (Florida’s) Dontrelle Willis, he should be in there too,” Garner said. “It would be unfair for me to vote because I see Roger up close.”

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Plus, Garner knows what little help Clemens has gotten for the Houston hitters.

In Clemens’ 27 starts, the Astros have scored just 3.61 runs per game, the lowest for any of their seven pitchers who have started games. Clemens has been the starter in eight of the 16 games in which Houston has been shut out.

Clemens won his record seventh Cy Young last season, when he was 18-4 with a 2.98 ERA. He became the oldest pitcher ever to win a postseason game in the playoff opener against Atlanta, then beat the Cardinals in Game 3 of the NLCS before losing the deciding Game 7.

During that postseason series, La Russa talked about what a competitor Clemens was.

“When I gave that compliment last year,” La Russa said, “I was hoping that he was going to retire.”

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