The Cardinals defeat the Astros, 4-2. Composite Getty Image.
Nolan Arenado homered, Alec Burleson added an RBI double to back up a solid start by Miles Mikolas and the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Houston Astros 4-2 on Wednesday.
Burleson’s hit made it 3-0 in the fifth inning and Arenado added an insurance run in the sixth after the Astros got within 1 in the bottom of the fifth.
Mikolas (4-6) allowed five hits and two runs in six innings for the win. Ryan Helsley pitched a perfect ninth for his 20th save.
YAINER IS ON 🔥#VoteStros x https://t.co/UTDeXYLgwL pic.twitter.com/hy33oHSiIm
— Houston Astros (@astros) June 5, 2024
Yainer Diaz homered for a third straight game and Trey Cabbage hit his first home run of the season, but the Astros were unable to complete the series sweep on a day when top hitters Kyle Tucker and Alex Bregman sat out with injuries.
CABBAGE POWER pic.twitter.com/nAmjLHiK1H
— Houston Astros (@astros) June 5, 2024
Tucker missed his second game after fouling a ball off his shin Monday night and Bregman was a late scratch with a sore left hand after being hit by a pitch Tuesday night.
Brandon Crawford got things going for St. Louis when he doubled to start the third and moved to third base on a groundout by Pedro Pagés. The Cardinals took a 1-0 lead when Crawford scored on a sacrifice fly by Michael Siani.
Pagés walked with one out in the fifth and advanced to second on a groundout by Siani. An RBI single by Brendan Donovan made it 2-0. Burleson then smacked a double to the corner of right field to score Donovan and push the lead to 3-0.
The Astros had managed just two singles when Diaz homered to the seats in right field with one out in the bottom of the inning to cut the lead to 3-1. Cabbage followed with his shot to the bullpen in right-center field to get the Astros within 3-2.
Arenado homered to left field off Ronel Blanco (5-2) with one out in the sixth to extend the lead to 4-2.
Blanco allowed five hits and four runs in 5 2/3 innings for his second straight loss after opening the season 5-0, highlighted by a no-hitter in his season debut.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Astros: RHPs Cristian Javier and José Urquidy are both scheduled to have right elbow surgery this week and are out for the season. Urquidy’s surgery is set for Wednesday and Javier’s is scheduled for Thursday. “Right now, they are both having an elbow surgery,” general manager Dana Brown said. “We’re not sure to the extent of it, but Tommy John is certainly a possibility talking with both of them.” … Manager Joe Espada said Tucker was still really sore, but the Astros hoped he could return Friday.
UP NEXT
Cardinals: RHP Sonny Gray (7-3, 3.00 ERA) starts for St. Louis against RHP (Cal Quantrill (4-4, 3.84) in the first of four games against Colorado on Thursday night.
Astros: They’re off Thursday before LHP Framber Valdez (4-3, 3.95) starts the opener of a series against the Los Angeles Angels on Friday night.
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Astros outfielder Kyle Tucker is getting close to returning to action after being sidelined since June with what was believed to be a deep bone bruise on his shin.
The Athletic reported this week that Tucker is actually dealing with a fracture, and that's why it's taken so long for him heal.
This shouldn't come as a surprise, as the Astros are known for being extremely secretive about injuries. However, they're also known for rushing players back too soon, as we've seen with recently with pitcher JP France.
After watching the videos of Tucker running the bases, he clearly looks better than he did a couple of weeks ago. But it's quite obvious Tucker still isn't 100%.
Which is concerning because the Astros anticipate him returning in just a few days. Maybe as soon as the Diamondback series later this week.
Based on the way Tucker is moving, we don't expect him to play right field every day when he returns, which means he'll have to DH from time to time to keep his bat in the lineup.
Which means Alex Bregman and Yordan Alvarez may be asked to play in the field more often as King Tuck works his way back. And the same goes for Yainer Diaz, who may be asked to catch more frequently.
Bregman is dealing with his own injury (elbow), and missed four straight games before returning to action on Wednesday.
One other factor to consider, is how forthcoming are the Astros being about Bregman? Is he really going to push through his elbow issue until he's able to have surgery in the offseason?
Which begs the question, could the team be pushing Tucker back into action because Bregman will continue to miss time?
Plus, with the DH being occupied by Tucker, Bregman, and Alvarez, Jose Altuve is going to have to play 2nd base on a daily basis.
Which isn't ideal for a 34-year-old player who is already showing signs of fatigue with his power numbers dwindling.
This is one video you don't want to miss as we react to Tucker's fractured shin, and examine the ripple effect that will take place when Tucker finally returns.
Catch our weekly Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast. Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and Charlie Pallilo discuss varied Astros topics. The first post for the week generally goes up Monday afternoon (second part released Tuesday) via The SportsMap HOU YouTube channel or listen to episodes in their entirety at Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.
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