St. Louis nearly batted around in the first inning, getting a lead-off double from John Jay and singles from Matt Holliday, Allen Craig, David Freese, Yadier Molina and Skip Schumaker off Astros starter Lucas Harrell. Seven hits and four runs in the first, and Cardinals P Adam Wainwright has sent the Astros down in order through three innings.

St. Louis dropped two of three to Pittsburgh, and are looking to break out of an offensive slump in which they are only averaging three runs a game in their last four (three losses).

The Cardinals have Craig, Freese and Molina coming up in the bottom of the third, looking to tack on even more to a game the Cardinals need to keep pace in the competitive NL Wild Card race. Pittsburgh, tied with Atlanta for the Wild Card lead, is at San Diego, while the Braves are trailing Washington 1-0 in the 4th inning.

The Dodgers, who lead St. Louis by one half game in the Wild Card, are hosting San Francisco.