The St. Louis Cardinals managed to get on the board against Houston Astros starter Bud Norris Wednesday night, scoring five runs against the hard-throwing starter, and Kyle Lohse pitched eight impeccable innings on the way to a 5-1 Cardinals win. Jon Jay drove in two runs and Yadier Molina had three hits to pace the Cardinals, who also got an RBI double from their 2007 first-round pick, Pete Kozma, who made his Major League debut in relief of Lance Berkman—by way of Tyler Greene, who ended up in right field.
Berkman and Matt Holliday both left the game with injuries that aren't thought to be serious at this time; Holliday left early with a strained quad, while Berkman injured his wrist making a diving catch in right field. Tony La Russa's roster machinations ensured that the two of them were replaced, in one way or another, by nearly every player on the bench and in the lineup; Allen Craig made another start at second base before ending up in the outfield, while Tyler Greene, Craig's first infield replacement, moved after Kozma came in. Mark Hamilton, the Cardinals' little-used backup first baseman, saw a few innings in the outfield to complete the effect.
Carlos Lee doubled, while Michael Bourn and Humberto Quintero each had two hits for the Astros, who fall to 15-28 on the season.