Saturday’s Game Report: Cardinals 7, Astros 5
By Rob Rains
It had been a long time since Andre Pallante won a road start – and the end of the streak did not come easily.
Pallante allowed just one run over five innings but the Cardinals did not secure that elusive road win on Saturday night in Houston until surviving more late-inning bullpen problems.
The Cardinals were ahead 7-1 before the Astros scored four runs in the final two innings to force closer Riley O’Brien into the game to get the final two outs.
That gave Pallante his first win away from Busch Stadium since May 16, 2025 at Kansas City. Pallante had made a combined 11 starts on the road since that win without a victory.
He got plenty of support against the Astros with the Cardinals hitting three home runs as they extended their winning streak to four games.
Here is how Saturday night’s game broke down:
At the plate: Nolan Gorman gave Pallante a 2-0 lead before he made his first pitch of the night, delivering a single with the bases loaded in the first inning. That turned out to be the only hit for the Cardinals in 13 at-bats with a runner in scoring position … Masyn Winn increased the lead to 4-1 with his first homer of the year, a two-run shot in the third, followed by solo homers from Jose Fermin, his first of the year, in the sixth and another solo blast from Alec Burleson, his third of the season, in the seventh … The final run scored on a wild pitch in the eighth … JJ Wetherholt reached base three times when he was hit by a pitch, walked and beat out an infield single … Jordan Walker extended his hitting streak to 13 games with a single in the fifth.
On the mound: Pallante allowed only three hits, including a first-inning homer by Yordan Alvarez. He walked three and struck out five … After Gordon Graceffo retired all six hitters he faced in the sixth and seventh, Matt Svanson walked the bases loaded in the eighth but got out of the jam allowing only one run with a double play and strikeout … George Soriano also struggled in the ninth, allowing two walks in front of a three-run homer that cut the Cardinals lead to 7-5 … O’Brien earned his sixth save by getting Jose Altuve to ground out and striking out Alvarez.
Key stat: The 11-game streak without a road win was the longest by a Cardinals starter since Johan Oviedo made 12 consecutive starts on the road without a win between 2020 and 2022.
Worth noting: The Cardinals improved to 8-0 when scoring first and have now won five of their first seven series to open the season … The homer by Alvarez was his ninth of the year, breaking a tie with Walker for the most in the majors … Wetherholt has reached base nine times in the last three games despite getting only two hits, drawing four walks and getting hit by a pitch three times.
Up next: Matthew Liberatore will get the start in the series finale on Sunday.
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