The St. Louis Cardinals (16-11) could not overcome a rough outing from SP Jaime Garcia as the Cards lost 8-2 to the Houston Astros (13-14).
Garcia (L, 2-2) lasted 6.0 innings, but could not keep the Astros off the base paths as he allowed 4 walks and 4 hits -- including a grand slam to 3B Chris Johnson -- to go with only 3 strikeouts. The Cardinals offense, meanwhile, offered equally lackluster support.
SP Bud Norris (W, 2-1) took the win as the Cardinals managed to coax 4 walks from the righty, but only 3 singles. On the night, the Cardinals has 6 hits, but failed to land an extra base hit. LF Matt Holliday and SS Rafael Furcal each added steals, and RBI singles from RF Carlos Beltran and Holliday gave the Cardinals a presence on the scoreboard, but Johnson's slam and the Astro bullpen proved too much for the Cardinals.
St. Louis concludes their three-game set against the Astros on Sunday at 1:05 p.m. CDT.
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