The St. Louis Cardinals once again failed to score a lot of runs, but the three they did score was all they needed as the Redbirds downed the Houston Astros 3-1 at Busch Stadium, taking two of the three weekend series games against their division rival.

Braden Looper (4-2) pitched six innings, striking out three and giving up just the one earned run. Russ Springer and Ryan Franklin came in in relief to hold the fort until Jason Isringhausen could nail it shut in the 9th inning, earning his 8th save.

Adam Kennedy had three hits for the Cardinals. Scott Rolen snapped an 0-for-25 slump with a run scoring double.

Houston starter Chris Sampson (3-2) gave up all three earned runs in 4.2 innings to take the loss.