Framber struggles as Astros drop opener to Cardinals

Astros Framber Valdez
The Cardinals beat the Astros, 8-3. Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images.

Nolan Arenado homered and Brendan Donovan went 4 for 4, helping Sonny Gray and the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Houston Astros 8-3 on Monday night.

Arenado also doubled twice and scored two runs in the opener of a three-game series. Donovan extended his hitting streak to 10 games.

Gray (3-0) pitched seven scoreless innings. He allowed three hits, struck out four and walked one.

The Cardinals have won Gray's last eight home starts dating to last season.

Astros left-hander Framber Valdez (1-2) was tagged for seven runs — six earned — in four-plus innings. Five of the 10 hits he allowed were doubles.

Arenado hit a solo drive off Luis Contreras in the eighth. It was his second homer of the season.

The Cardinals broke it open with three runs in the fourth and three more in the fifth.

Pedro Pagés hit a two-run double to make it 3-0 in the fourth. Nolan Gorman's sacrifice fly extended the lead to 7-0 in the fifth.

Donovan scored twice and drove in a run. He is batting an NL-high .391.

Houston's Jeremy Peña hit a three-run homer off Roddery Muñoz with two outs in the ninth.

Key moment

Arenado drove in the first run in the fifth. He fouled off four straight offerings in a 10-pitch at-bat before ripping an RBI double to left.

Key stat

Gray set the tone when he retired Jose Altuve, Isaac Paredes and Yordan Alvarez in order in the first inning. The Astros’ only hit off Gray through five was catcher Yainer Diaz’s infield single in the second.

Up next

Astros right-hander Hunter Brown (1-1, 2.00 ERA) starts on Tuesday night. Right-hander Erick Fedde (1-1, 4.50 ERA) makes his fourth start for the Cardinals.

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How Astros suddenly poised to make noise as bats, arms surge

Will Isaac Paredes stay hot against the Cardinals? Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images.

The Houston Astros and St. Louis Cardinals meet Monday night at Busch Stadium, both aiming to get above .500 in the early weeks of the season.

Houston (7-8) sends left-hander Framber Valdez (1-1, 2.50 ERA) to the mound in search of a strong start to begin a three-game road series. The Astros, 3-3 away from home this season, have leaned on their pitching—ranking eighth in the American League with a 3.70 team ERA.

St. Louis (7-8) counters with right-hander Sonny Gray (2-0, 4.50 ERA), who has a WHIP of 0.88 despite some early bumps in run prevention. The Cardinals have been solid at home (6-3) and are among the NL’s best-hitting teams, posting a collective .280 average.

Jose Altuve (.302, 3 HR) and Isaac Paredes (13-for-42, 3 HR in last 10) lead the way for Houston’s offense, while Brendan Donovan (.350, 10 RBI) and Pedro Pages (10-for-34, 7 RBI in last 10) have been producing for the Cardinals.

Both teams enter the matchup with identical 7-8 records but differing trends: Houston has outscored opponents by eight runs over their last 10 games (5-5), while the Cardinals have gone 4-6 during that stretch, giving up 5.19 runs per game.

First pitch is scheduled for 7:45 p.m. ET.

Here's a sneak peek at tonight's lineup:

Image via: MLB.com/Screenshot.

Mauricio Dubon gets the nod at second base again, and Chas McCormick will make the start over Jake Meyers in center field. Jose Altuve will get some time off his feet hitting in the DH spot, with Yordan Alvarez playing in left field.


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