LOS ANGELES -- Chris Carpenter is three time zones away rehabbing an injured elbow in Florida, but he'd likely be proud of what Adam Wainwright has to say about his recent slump. If, that is, you can call two shaky starts a slump.

Wainwright, a proud disciple of Carpenter's relentless concentration and focus, has identified a flaw in his preparation for games, and he believes he's fixed it. As a result, he expects to see a turn in his results when he pitches on Friday for the Cardinals at Dodger Stadium.

That's right -- it's not a flaw in his delivery, or an issue with his arm. Wainwright expressed disappointment in how he's watched his teammates pitch. Like his mentor, Wainwright fervently believes that every minute step you can take to prepare for a start is relevant.

"In between starts, I haven't been as locked in," Wainwright said. "I haven't been focused on the pitchers, watching their sequences, watching the hitters that they're facing. I haven't really been grinding as hard as I should have been on my film work. ... So this last week, I've tried to be more intense between starts, more mind-on-your-job kind of thing between starts. And I think it should pay off."

It's not as though Wainwright has been getting drilled. He gave up 12 hits, but only four runs, in 5 2/3 innings in his last game. He was roughed up for six earned runs against the Brewers five days before that, including three home runs. Prior to that, though, he had been rolling, with a 2.25 ERA on the morning of May 12.

In only his second year as a big league starter, Wainwright has reached the point where two subpar starts have people asking what's wrong with him. Perhaps that's the definition of a mixed blessing.

"Even Chris Carpenter went through that when he won a Cy Young," said manager Tony La Russa. "You pitch a lot of games, and everything isn't always clicking. I think he's fine."

The fact that the Cardinals are going to Chavez Ravine as Wainwright tries to get sorted out isn't lost on the righty. It was at that very park, just barely over a year ago, that Wainwright hit bottom in his first year as a starter. He was pounded for eight runs in 2 2/3 innings in a 9-7 loss, ballooning his ERA to 6.34. Wainwright used the game as a wake-up call, and it worked. He went 11-9 with a 2.96 ERA, averaging 6.6 innings per start, for the rest of the year.

"That game last year was the turning point," Wainwright said. "One hundred percent, without a doubt, I already know that. I don't think it will take a game like that to refocus me this year. I think that I should be to the point where I turn it on a little easier."

Instead, he's looking to the game at Dodger Stadium to be the start of more good stuff, rather than the end of the bad. One change he intends to make between the lines is a switch he sometimes needs to remind himself to flip. Possessing an outstanding fastball, Wainwright sometimes gets too cute and leans too much on offspeed offerings. That's part of what he was doing in 2007, and it's part of the problem he feels he had recently.

"The good thing is, I know what I was doing," he said. "I completely wasn't trusting my fastball. Sometimes during the course of the year, I've gotten into moods where I go out there and I'm trying to be a thumber [a junkball pitcher]. And I'm not a thumber. I'm a guy who needs to attack hitters and believe in my fastball. The last game I got away from that completely. And this game coming up, my focus will be a lot better."

Neither Wainwright nor La Russa believes that Wainwright's heavy workload in April is a factor. And there are certainly reasons to believe them. In his first two games after a hard-earned 124-pitch complete game on April 26, Wainwright was excellent. Additionally, this will be the third time this year he's received five days' rest, thanks to off-days in the Cardinals' schedule.

"He isn't getting treatment for anything," La Russa said. "He isn't reporting anything. I don't think it's physical. I expect him to pitch well Friday."

So does Wainwright. But then, he always expects to pitch well. Just like Carpenter.

"I feel a lot better right now than I did two weeks ago," he said. "Going into that Milwaukee start, I felt the best with my delivery that I have all year. I just didn't have as much pop for whatever reason. Right now, I feel great with my delivery. My arm feels really nice. I've got no excuses."