ASTROS GAMER: Houston fights to defeat St. Louis

The Houston Astros defeated the St. Louis Cardinals 8-5 Tuesday night at Minute Maid Park. The offense provided a spark and the bullpen covered six innings in the Stros’ second straight victory.

HOW DID IT HAPPEN:

Former Ragin’ Cajun Spencer Arrighetti got the ball for the Astros to start this game. He was greeted by Alec Burleson who homered with one out in the first. After that, he got out of the inning without further damage and the Cardinals led 1-0.

Houston would strike back in the bottom of the first against Cardinals starter Andre Pallante. A single, hit by pitch and a wild pitch put runners at second and third with no outs. Then Yordan Alvarez and Jake Meyers both had RBI putouts to give the Astros a 2-1 lead.

In the second inning, Arrighetti was hit by a line throw by Ivan Herrera. He would stay in the match, but was visibly shaken. In the inning, he got around a few baserunners to score a zero.

The Astros offense went to work in the bottom of the third. A walk and a single set the stage for Jeremy Pena, who doubled a run. Then, Yainer Diaz launched a three-run shot to right field. That made it 6-1 Houston through three innings.

Although Arrighetti remained after being hit, his command looked shaky in the third. He came out of the inning with no runs allowed, but that would end his day after just 64 pitches. That meant a long day for the Houston bullpen.

Tayler Scott was the first reliever called up by Houston. He allowed a run in the fourth, but that run was answered by a Pena sacrifice fly in the bottom half. This made the score 7-2 after four innings.

The Cardinals added two more in the sixth when Masyn Winn singled to left field. It made it 7-4. They got closer in the next inning when Nolan Gorman went deep. With the lead reduced to 7-5, the Astros went to Bryan Abreu, who got them out of the inning.

Houston added an insurance run on a Victor Caritini sacrifice fly in the bottom half of the seventh, and that was all they would need.

Abreu worked the eighth and Ryan Pressly had a save chance, giving Josh Hader a night off as Pressly returned to his old role for one night. He worked a 1-2-3 ninth to close out the game for Houston.

BIG NUMBER: 6

The Astros needed six innings of relief in this game after Arrighetti’s short start. The offense helped, making the task easier. This combined for a big win against St. Louis.

PLAYER OF THE GAME: Jeremy Pena

Pena came to the plate. He went 2-2, driving in two runs while also working a walk. Thanks to his performance, his season batting average returned to over .300, while he is now at .302.

NEXT: The Astros and Cardinals will play an afternoon game tomorrow inside Minute Maid Park to conclude the series. Pregame is at 12:40 p.m. with first pitch at 1:10 p.m. and you can hear the action on ESPN 103.7 Lafayette 104.1 Lake Charles.