Tuesday’s Game Report: Astros 2, Cardinals 0
By Rob Rains
The Cardinals have defeated several top quality starting pitchers in recent days but weren’t able to add to that list on Tuesday night.
Hunter Brown shut down the high-flying Cardinals offense, allowing just four hits over six innings, to lead the Astros to the win at Busch Stadium.
Brown outdueled Cardinals’ starter Erick Fedde, who matched the zeroes from Brown through the first five innings before the Astros broke the scoreless tie in the sixth.
It was the first time the Cardinals have been shut out in the first 17 games of the season.
Here is how Tuesday night’s game broke down:
At the plate: Brendan Donovan led off the fourth inning with a double, extending his hitting streak to 11 games. He advanced to third on a one-out single by Alec Burleson but both were left stranded when Brown retired Jordan Walker on a line drive and struck out Nolan Gorman … The Cardinals also left a runner on third base in both the first and eighth innings, going 1-of-7 with runners in scoring position.
On the mound: Fedde has allowed only one run combined in his last two starts, covering 12 innings … He got out of bases-loaded jams in the second and fourth innings and also stranded a runner on third in the third … Jeremy Pena led off the sixth with a double and scored the game’s first run on a single by Jake Meyers … The second Houston run came on a home run by Yordan Alvarez off Kyle Leahy in the eighth, only the second run Leahy has allowed this season.
Key stat: The home run by Alvarez snapped Leahy’s no-hit streak at nine innings, spread across seven games.
Worth noting: The Cardinals announced on Tuesday that lefthander Cooper Hjerpe, the team’s first-round draft pick in 2022, underwent Tommy John surgery and will miss all of the 2025 season … At Class A Palm Beach, first baseman Josh Kross homered for the fourth consecutive game and hit for the cycle in Palm Beach’s 10-5 win over Clearwater. Kross, who drove in six runs, is hitting .406. He was the sixth-round pick in last year’s draft from Cincinnati.
Up next: Steven Matz will come out of the bullpen to make his first start of the season on Wednesday in the final game of the series against the Astros. First pitch is scheduled for 12:15 p.m.
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