St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Adam Wainwright delivers a pitch to the Houston Astros in the third inning at Busch Stadium in St. Louis on July 9, 2013. UPI/Bill Greenblatt
Backed by a seven-run cushion through the first five innings, Adam Wainwright cruised to his 12th win of the season, striking out nine and allowing just one run in seven innings as the Cardinals defeated the Houston Astros 9-5 Tuesday night at Busch Stadium.
Wainwright improved to 13-1 in 15 career starts against Houston. His 1.56 ERA against the Astros is his lowest against any team. He has won seven consecutive starts against the former NL Central rival, with his lone loss to the Astros coming on Aug. 2, 2009. His 12th win ties him for the National League lead.
AUDIOÂ Wainwright on his mastery over the Astros (:40)
Matt Holliday hit his team-high 13th home run and Matt Carpenter had three hits and drove in three runs.
Houston starter Bud Norris started his career in dominating fashion over the Cardinals, winning his first four starts and allowing just one run in his first 26 innings against St. Louis. However, the Cardinals jumped out to a 7-0 lead, hammering Norris with 11 hits in five innings. Norris didn’t have shabby numbers against the Cards, entering the game with an 8-5 record and a 2.74 ERA.
Houston scored four in the ninth off the bullpen and Mike Matheny needed to call on Edward Mujica to finish off the game for his 24th save.