Former Houston Astros star Lance Berkman was the only member of the St. Louis Cardinals who could get around famous redbird-killer Bud Norris Wednesday night, hitting a home run in the seventh inning to break up Norris's no-hitter, but it wasn't enough, as the current Astros took out the first-place Cardinals 4-1. Jaime Garcia took the loss, his second of the year, while Mark Melancon, traded for Berkman, saved his sixth game for the Astros, who improved to 24-38. Albert Pujols doubled to continue his hot hitting after failing to solve Norris.
Jason Michaels went 2-4 with an RBI for the Astros. Ryan Theriot's hitting streak was halted at 20 games, although he reached base twice with walks and finished 0-2. Jaime Garcia walked just two in five innings but struggled with his pitch count throughout and allowed seven hits and three earned runs.
On Thursday the Cardinals move on the second-place Milwaukee Brewers. Rookie Lance Lynn will take on former Cardinals prospect Chris Narveson in game one.