Astros bats go quiet after quick start in loss to Cardinals
CARDINALS DEFEAT ASTROS
16 April
The Cardinals beat the Astros, 4-1. Photo by Alika Jenner/Getty Images.
Lars Nootbaar hit a three-run homer in the fifth inning, and Steven Matz pitched five strong innings in his first start of the season to help the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Houston Astros 4-1 Wednesday.
Matz (1-0) retired the last 15 batters he faced, striking out five, after allowing a run on a pair of singles to lead off the game.
Ryan Fernandez, Kyle Leahy and Phil Maton each pitched a scoreless inning of relief before Ryan Helsley pitched a scoreless ninth to earn his third save of the season.
Ronel Blanco (1-2) allowed three runs and five hits and three walks in five innings for Houston, which has not won consecutive games this season.
Nootbaar hit his third home run of the season to center field off Blanco in the bottom of the fifth to give the Cardinals a 3-1 lead.
Key moment
Victor Scott II put down a bunt single to lead off the bottom of the fifth that just barely stayed fair down the third-base line. It was his major league-leading fourth bunt hit of the season.
Key stat
Brendan Donovan singled in the fifth inning to extend his major league-best hitting streak to 12 games. That also matches his career high.
Up next
Astros: RHP (Ryan Gusto 1-0, 3.00 ERA) is scheduled to face Padres LHP Kyle Hart (2-0, 5.40 ERA) the opener of a three-game series Friday night in Houston.
Cardinals: RHP Andre Pallante (2-0, 2.20 ERA) starts the opener of a four-game series at the New York Mets on Thursday night.
Astros show signs of life in blowout win over Brewers
May 7, 2025, 3:25 pm
Framber Valdez pitched seven strong innings and Jeremy Peña homered and drove in four runs as the Houston Astros defeated the Milwaukee Brewers 9-1 on Wednesday.
Houston earned just its second victory in seven games to snap Milwaukee’s three-game winning streak and leave both teams with .500 records. The Brewers were attempting to sweep a series from the Astros for the first time since 2012.
The Astros led 3-1 before Peña broke the game open by delivering a three-run homer to left off reliever Elvin Rodriguez with two outs in the sixth inning.
JP3-run bomb. #BuiltForThis pic.twitter.com/En0XXWdlt0
— Houston Astros (@astros) May 7, 2025
Valdez (2-4) struck out seven while allowing three hits, two walks and one run to earn his first win since the Astros’ March 27 season opener. He threw a season-high 101 pitches.
The Framchise is all business.#BuiltForThis pic.twitter.com/J8EGGDk5gl
— Houston Astros (@astros) May 7, 2025
Milwaukee’s only run off Valdez came on Eric Haase’s fifth-inning homer, a 425-foot drive to center.
The Astros took a 1-0 lead off Quinn Priester (1-1) in the second inning as Jake Meyers hit a two-out single and scored on Zach Dezenzo’s double.
RBI double for Zach gets us on the board early! #BuiltForThis pic.twitter.com/AilCY27A9d
— Houston Astros (@astros) May 7, 2025
The Brewers have lost all 13 games this season in which their opponent scored first.
Five-time All-Star closer Josh Hader worked the ninth while pitching in Milwaukee for the first time since the Brewers traded him in 2022.
Key moment
The Astros led 1-0 and had runners on third and second with one out in the fifth when Peña hit a bouncer to third.
Safe all day. #BuiltForThis pic.twitter.com/OVjcvev7cM
— Houston Astros (@astros) May 7, 2025
The throw home beat Dezenzo to the plate. Home plate umpire Chris Conroy initially ruled Dezenzo out, but the Astros challenged the call and replays showed the runner slid home ahead of Haase’s tag.
Key stat
Valdez has now pitched at least seven innings an MLB-leading 57 times since 2020.
Up next
The Astros host the Cincinnati Reds on Friday. Scheduled pitchers are right-hander Hunter Brown (5-1, 1.67) for the Astros and right-hander Nick Martinez (1-3, 4.19) for the Reds.
The Brewers visit the Tampa Bay Ray on Friday. Left-hander José Quintana (4-1, 2.83) will pitch for the Brewers.
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