The Cardinals rallied in the ninth inning with four runs, thanks to Adron Chambers’ two-run triple and Rafael Furcal’s two-run homer, but the tying run was left stranded as the Houston Astros held on for a 9-8 win.
Cardinals starter Jaime Garcia was tagged with four runs in the first inning. It was Garcia’s first start after being skipped over last Friday in New York because of a sore elbow. Justin Maxwell hit a two-run homer and Jose Altuve tied a career high with four hits as the Astros built a 6-1 in the second inning. Garcia (3-4) gave up five hits and the six runs tied his season high (also against Houston). Brian Bogusevic added a solo home run in the fourth and Chris Snyder drove in two runs for Houston.
Matt Adams had a three-run homer in the third inning for the Cardinals, which made it a 6-4 game at the time.