Astros' offense sputters in series finale loss to Cardinals

Astros Jose Abreu, Yordan Alvarez
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 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.

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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Luis Garcia's rehab hit another bump in the road. Composite image by Jack Brame.

This week started on a high note for Astros fans as they were able to see Lance McCullers return and pitch in a game for the first time since 2022. McCullers looked good, only needing 13 pitches to get through the inning, and didn't allow any runs.

If McCullers continues on this path without any setbacks, we wouldn't be surprised if he's pitching for the big league club at the end of April or early May.

However, the outlook isn't nearly as positive for Luis Garcia, who is working his way back from Tommy John surgery. Garcia was expected to throw a live BP on Thursday, but those plans have now changed. According to multiple reports, Garcia is dealing with elbow soreness and will now see team doctors for further evaluation.

This isn't the first time Garcia has dealt with a setback in his recovery. As Chandler Rome mentions in the post above, Garcia was expected to be ready to return before McCullers. However, complications have apparently forced the Astros to slow down Garcia's rehab, making his status for this season even more uncertain.

Fortunately for Houston, they weren't counting on Garcia or McCullers to start the season in the rotation. But, they were hoping to have both return at some point this year to add more depth to the roster.

If Garcia is shut down from throwing for several weeks, even in a best-case scenario, it's hard to imagine he'll be ready to contribute over the next three months. The Astros would be wise to play it safe with Garcia, the last thing they want to happen is for him to need another surgery.

This also serves as a reminder that pitchers often require more than the typical 12–18 months to recover. Which is why counting on Cristian Javier to contribute this season, feels like a big ask for a player that had Tommy John surgery in June.

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