PITTSBURGH, Pa., September 13, 2011 – The St. Louis Cardinals announced today that they have agreed with starting pitcher Chris Carpenter on a two-year contract extension through the 2013 season.  The announcement was made in Pittsburgh by Cardinals’ Senior V.P./General Manager John Mozeliak.

“Chris embodies everything you want in a player,” stated Mozeliak. “He is a great teammate, a winning player, a tough competitor and a proud representative of the Cardinals tradition.  We are extremely pleased to have Chris extended through the next two seasons.”

In his nine seasons (2003-11) with the Cardinals, Carpenter has compiled the best winning pct. (.689; 93-42) of any Cardinals pitcher since 1900 (min. 1,000 innings pitched).

“The Cardinals organization and the St. Louis fans have made my family and I feel very much a part of the Cardinals family since Day 1,” said Carpenter.  “I am thrilled to know that I will remain part of this great organization over the next two seasons and hopefully in the days beyond my playing career.”

The 2005 National League Cy Young Award winner ranks 9th among all-time Cardinals in ERA (3.10) since 1900 (min. 1,300 innings pitched) and he’s 4th on the team’s all-time strikeouts list (1,046), trailing only Bob Gibson, Dizzy Dean and Bob Forsch.

Joining Bob Gibson as the only Cardinals to win Cy Young honors, Carpenter posted a 21-5 mark in 2005, as he became the first Cardinals pitcher since 1989 to strike out 200 or more batters in a single-season.

Carpenter was voted the N.L. Player’s Choice Comeback Player of the Year award in 2009 after leading the National League with a 2.24 ERA, the first league ERA title for a Cardinals pitcher since 1988.

Carpenter is 9-9 with a 3.75 ERA this season, leading the league in games started (30), while ranking 4th in innings pitched (206.1) and complete games (3).  He was named an All-Star in 2005, 2006 and 2010, starting the mid-summer classic for the N.L in 2005.  Chris was a member of the Cardinals 2006 World Championship team and he has been a part of four postseason teams and two National League pennant winners for St. Louis.