Lance Berkman Homers Twice, St. Louis Cardinals Hammer Houston Astros

The St. Louis Cardinals expected Lance Berkman to improve on the 14 home runs he hit in 2010, they just didn't expect him to do it so fast. Berkman went 4-5 with two home runs in the Cardinals' last game against his native Houston Astros, driving in five to send the Cardinals past the Astros by a score of 11-7. Matt Holliday went 2-4 with a home run of his own and Albert Pujols went 2-5, with all three of the team's veteran sluggers contributing in a nine-run sixth inning that was the most impressive offensive feat yet in a season full of them. Kyle McClellan improved to 4-0 with an ugly start made less ugly by context; he threw 5 2/3 innings, allowing five earned runs on eight hits. Fernando Salas picked up the save, his first. 

Chris Johnson homered for the Astros, who fell to 9-16 with the loss, and first baseman Brett Wallace added two more doubles against the team that drafted him and eventually traded him for Matt Holliday. 

Eduardo Sanchez, Mitchell Boggs On Cardinals Close Carousel

Rookie star Eduardo Sanchez joined Mitchell Boggs on the list of St. Louis Cardinals to receive save opportunities Wednesday night, working a tough ninth inning for the first Major League save of his career. Fantasy baseball owners of Mitchell Boggs are advised to not panic, yet—the late inning warm-ups made it seem like Boggs wasn't available at all, and Sanchez's performance (he allowed his first two runs of the season) was not especially convincing, though it came with two more strikeouts. 

Sanchez is a great prospect off to an astounding MLB start, but Mitchell Boggs likely remains the de facto closer until Tony La Russa makes a public pronouncement contradicting that; he looks like a closer, he's acted like one, and La Russa has used him as one. But expect Sanchez and even Jason Motte and Fernando Salas to be plugged into save situations as the scenario dictates. It might be that by not addressing the closer title at all, La Russa has allowed himself to fashion an ever-unpopular bullpen-by-committee without having to say those dirty words. 

St. Louis Cardinals Survive Closer Meltdowns, Top Houston Astros 6-5

Kyle Lohse took the St. Louis Cardinals into the seventh inning with a 6-0 lead over the Houston Astros, but it took four relievers and an inordinately suspenseful ninth inning for the Redbirds to drop the Astros 6-5, after continued struggling from Ryan Franklin started the bullpen dominos again. The end result was that Eduardo Sanchez picked up his first career save, allowing three hits and two earned runs while striking out two. Lohse was the winner, after all the dust settled, improving to 4-1 with an ERA of just 1.64. J.A. Happ took the loss, falling to 1-4 on the year. 

Matt Holliday and Tyler Greene homered, and Nick Punto, Albert Pujols, and Lance Berkman drove in runs to pace the Cardinals, who move to 13-11. The Astros, 9-15, were led by former Cardinals prospect Brett Wallace, who went 3-4 with a double, and Angel Sanchez, who went 2-5 including a late double off Eduardo Sanchez that nearly turned the tide in favor of Houston. 

Kyle McClellan will get the ball for the Cardinals in game three of the series; he'll line up against Nelson Figueroa, who's allowed 19 earned runs in his 20 innings in 2011. 

Mitchell Boggs Blows First Save In Cardinals Loss

St. Louis Cardinals de facto closer Mitchell Boggs blew his first save of the season—his first in four attempts—Tuesday night, letting a sloppy ninth inning get away from him to the tune of two runs and a walk-off single from Houston Astros infielder Bill Hall. Boggs, who replaced Ryan Franklin after a string of early blown saves, had been solid in his first three ninth inning appearances, but some singles and a costly error made the difference in the Cardinals' 6-5 loss. 

Boggs allowed a single to open the inning, but his troubles began when he misplayed a Michael Bourn sacrifice bunt attempt, leaving runners on first and third with nobody out in a one-run game. A fastball that Yadier Molina failed to corral sent one run home on what was ruled a wild pitch, and three singles later the Cardinals' one-run lead had turned into a dramatic victory for the Astros. 

Boggs is likely to receive more closing opportunities based on his early returns, but Jason Motte and sensational rookie Eduardo Sanchez will remain options in the medium-term. 

St. Louis Cardinals Drop Series Opener Vs. Houston Astros

The St. Louis Cardinals dropped a winnable game in the first of three road contests against the Houston Astros Tuesday night, falling 6-5 in a sloppy ninth inning that saw each team briefly commandeer the lead. In the top of the ninth the Cardinals untied the 4-4 game in dramatic fashion, getting back-to-back doubles from Matt Holliday and returning ex-Astro Lance Berkman to lead off the inning before they found themselves suddenly unable to hit Brandon Lyon. 

The bottom of the ninth was less concise, but twice as effective. Cardinals non-closer closer Mitchell Boggs allowed a single to Brian Bogusevic to lead off the inning, and mishandled Michael Bourn's sacrifice bunt for an error that left Bogusevic on third base with nobody out. Boggs threw a fastball inside to Angel Sanchez that Yadier Molina was unable to handle, scoring the tying run, and then two consecutive singles to Berkman in right field loaded the bases. After Carlos Lee made an out to some Ryan Franklin-esque hometown boos, Bill Hall singled in the winning run.

It was a rough game for Boggs, who'd been solid in his first three save opportunities. Daniel Descalso was the unlikely offensive hero for the Cardinals, in the losing effort; the light-hitting utility infielder picked up two doubles, a triple, and a walk, nearly doubling his offensive output for the season to date. 

Lance Berkman Doubles In Houston Astros Homecoming

Lance Berkman, who hit 375 doubles as the last of the Houston Astros' Killer B's from 1999 to 2010, added one more as the St. Louis Cardinals' reclamation-project right fielder Tuesday night, going 2-5 with what was nearly the game-winning RBI in the Cardinals 6-5 loss to the Astros. Berkman, a homegrown star in every sense of the word, born in Waco and schooled at Rice, was greeted by a mostly enthusiastic crowd of Astros fans, including a bonus-army contingent of honorary Little Pumas. 

Despite some minor radio grumblings about the way Berkman only decided to get in the best shape of his life after leaving the Astros, fans seemed happy to welcome the slugger, who was traded for not-very-much to the New York Yankees on deadline day in 2010. Berkman finished his Astros career with the highest on-base percentage in team history, at .410, and his 1592 games with the club are fourth-most in team history, behind Craig Biggio, Jeff Bagqwell, and Jose Cruz. 

Berkman's off to a white-hot start in 2011, hitting .378/.446/.716 for the Cardinals, with six home runs and 16 RBI. 

St. Louis Cardinals, Houston Astros Tangle In Three-Game Set

Former St. Louis Cardinals prospect Brett Wallace and recent tormenter Bud Norris are among the players the Cardinals will face when they reach Minute Maid Park for the first of three games against their one-time division rivals the Houston Astros. Wallace, currently hitting a healthy .324/.400/.451, is the team's starting first baseman; Norris, who will get Jaime Garcia in the opener, has struck out 26 batters in 22 innings across his first two starts. With Albert Pujols's hamstring injury leaving his near-term status in doubt, the Cardinals will rely on former Astro Lance Berkman to hold down the first base fort in his absence. 

At 8-14 the Astros have struggled as predicted, but no Cardinals fan is ready just yet to write off Bud Norris. On Wednesday Kyle Lohse will face J.A. Happ, while in the concluding Thursday action Kyle McClellan and Nelson Figueroa are the teams' scheduled starters. 

For more and more verbose updates on the Cardinals, check out Viva El Birdos.