John Gant has turned from occasional spot starter to fixture in the St. Louis Cardinals' rotation. The right-hander gets the ball Friday night when St. Louis opens its last homestand of the regular season against the San Francisco Giants in Busch Stadium. After seven consecutive starts in which he had allowed no more than two earned runs while posting a 4-1 record and knocking his ERA down by nearly a full run, Gant was rocked in a 17-4 loss Saturday by the Los Angeles Dodgers.