Crushed it!

Astros blank Cardinals behind big nights from Meyers and Brown

Astros Hunter Brown
The Astros beat the Cardinals, 2-0. Photo by Ed Zurga/Getty Images.

Jake Meyers had three hits and drove in a run, Hunter Brown threw six shutout innings, to lead the Houston Astros to a 2-0 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals on Tuesday night.

Yordan Alverez hit a leadoff homer in the eighth off reliever Kyle Leahy.

Brown (2-1), making his first career appearance against the Cardinals, allowed four hits in pitching his fourth quality start of the season. He struck out four and walked two.

Josh Hader pitched a 1-2-3 ninth to earn his fourth save.

Cardinals starter Erick Fedde (1-2) gave up six hits and three walks in six innings while striking out five. It was his third quality start in four outings this season.

Meyers, who entered the game hitless in his previous nine at-bats, gave Houston the lead in the sixth inning.

Jeremy Peña led off with a double to left. With one out, Meyers hit a single to right that landed just in front of a diving Jordan Walker. Peña never hesitated as he rounded third and slid home to beat the throw. Fedde got of out of the inning when he snagged a line drive from Cam Smith that hit his glove and popped up and back in before he threw to first to double up Peña.

Key moment

With the bases loaded and two outs, Fedde escaped when Jose Altuve flew out to center field to end the fourth inning. In the second inning with the bases full, Fedde escaped on a flyball to right field by Mauricio Dubón.

Key stat

Brendan Donovan doubled in the fourth inning to extend his major league-best hitting streak to 11 games. He is leading the National League in hitting at .382.

Up next

Astros RHP Ronel Blanco (1-1, 6.94) faces off against Cardinals LHP Steven Matz (0-0, 1.93) in the final game of the series on Wednesday.

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Astros let lead slip late in tough loss to Rays

Chas McCormick gets another start in Game 2. Composite Getty Image.

The Houston Astros will aim to lock up a series victory Tuesday night as they face the Tampa Bay Rays in the second game of a three-game set. First pitch is set for 7:05 p.m. ET.

Houston (25–22) took the opener 4–3 on Monday and has now won five of its last ten games, continuing a recent surge that has pulled them back above .500 and into second place in the AL West. Tampa Bay (21–26) sits fourth in the AL East and has struggled to find consistency, especially at home where they are now just 11–18.

The Astros will turn to left-hander Brandon Walter, who is set to make his season debut. Walter, a depth option from the Astros' system, gets the nod with the club working through recent rotation injuries.

The Rays counter with right-hander Zack Littell (3–5, 4.31 ERA), who has been solid but not dominant across his first nine starts. He’s struck out 32 batters in 54.1 innings with a strong 1.12 WHIP.

Team trends

Houston holds the AL’s fifth-best team on-base percentage (.318) and has gone 6–4 over its last 10 games, posting a .252 batting average and a 3.78 team ERA in that span. Tampa Bay is 5–5 over its last 10, hitting .236 while their pitching staff has combined for a 4.34 ERA.

Players to watch

  • Jake Meyers continues to provide timely power for Houston, while Isaac Paredes has been one of Houston's steadiest hitters, going 11-for-37 with three home runs over his last 10 games.
  • Jonathan Aranda leads the Rays with a .309 batting average and has been a consistent bat in the middle of their lineup.
  • Chandler Simpson, a recent spark plug for Tampa, is hitting .364 over his last 10 games.

Betting line

According to BetMGM, the Astros are slight road favorites at -114, with the Rays at -105. The over/under is set at 9.5 runs, signaling expectations for a potentially high-scoring matchup.

With the series opener in their pocket and Walter making his first appearance of the year, the Astros will look to keep momentum rolling in Tampa and inch closer to the top of the AL West standings.

Here's a look at Tuesday's night's lineup:

Yainer Diaz gets the night off, with Victor Caratini catching Walter in his big league debut. Chas McCormick is in the lineup again playing left field, and Zach Dezenzo gets the nod in the DH spot.

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