Jose Altuve put Houston in front with a three-run homer in the second Friday and the Astros fought off St. Louis 5-4 to win their fourth in a row.

All of the runs were scored in the first three innings, with the win going to Lucas Harrell (2-2). He survived 5 1/3 innings while giving up four runs on seven hits with three strikeouts.

Brett Myers worked the ninth for his seventh save, giving up a leadoff single to Rafael Furcal, who was immediately erased in a double play.

Altuve’s homer gave Houston a 5-2 lead and St. Louis closed to within a run in the third on a run-scoring triple by Matt Holliday and a sacrifice fly by Allen Craig.

Kyle Lohse (4-1) suffered his first loss of the season in six starts. He surrendered five runs on seven hits in five innings. The Cardinals have lost two in a row.