Pham, Gyorko powers Cards over Astros
HOUSTON -- Tommy Pham and Jedd Gyorko slugged home runs and the St. Louis Cardinals turned a four-run sixth inning into an 8-5 interleague victory over the Houston Astros on Tuesday night at Minute Maid Park.
Pham went 2-for-4 with a double and a two-run home run while Gyorko produced three RBIs for the Cardinals (63-56), who extended their winning streak to three games. The offensive output provided support for left-hander Jaime Garcia (10-8), who labored into the sixth inning but lasted long enough to benefit from the rally.
Garcia allowed three home runs, solo shots to Alex Bregman in the first inning, Marwin Gonzalez leading off the third, and Jason Castro to open the sixth. He was yanked after Castro socked his eight homer 453 feet into the upper deck in right field, but the Cardinals had opened an 8-4 lead before Castro took Garcia deep.
Left-hander Dallas Keuchel (7-12) scuffled for the Astros (61-58), allowing six runs on six hits and one walk with seven strikeouts before departing with two runners on and no outs in the sixth inning.
Astros second baseman Jose Altuve finished 3-for-5 and reached 1,000 career hits with his single off Cardinals closer Seung Hwan Oh in the ninth inning. Altuve reached the milestone in a club-record 786 games and is second to Marlins outfielder Ichiro Suzuki (696 games) among active players in reaching the plateau in the fewest number of games.
Keuchel and Garcia struggled through difficult first innings, with Keuchel surrendering two runs on three hits before Garcia issued a walk, hit a batter and surrendered the first home run to Astros rookie Alex Bregman.
For Keuchel, his issue was finding the strike zone. Of the 30 pitches he threw in the first inning, 13 were balls. His inefficiency granted the Cardinals the benefit to wait for a manageable strike. Matt Carpenter and Brandon Moss did so in succession, with Carpenter nudging Pham to third before Moss drove Pham home. Molina followed with the first of his run-scoring groundouts for a 2-0 Cardinals lead.
Keuchel appeared to right his ship, retiring 12 consecutive batters through the first out of the fifth inning. But just as suddenly he came undone, surrendering a hard-hit double to Randal Grichuk two batters before Pham blasted a two-run homer the opposite way to right field with two outs and two strikes that made it 4-4.
After limiting the damage to two runs in the fifth, Keuchel issued a walk to Matt Carpenter and allowed a single to Moss before being lifted for Pat Neshek, who failed to provide relief by surrendering a three-run homer to Gyorko, his 18th of the season.
NOTES: The Cardinals placed RHP Seth Maness (right elbow strain) on the 15-day disabled list retroactive to Aug. 14 and recalled RHP Sam Tuivailala from Triple-A Memphis. Maness is 2-2 with a 3.41 ERA in 29 appearances, including a career-best 14 1/3 scoreless innings streak from July 9 to Aug. 12. He was on the disabled list from May 13-June 18 with right elbow inflammation. Tuivailala is beginning his second stint with the Cardinals having allowed three runs in three innings with three strikeouts over four appearances from July 3-26. ... Astros 3B Luis Valbuena has ramped up baseball activities and will accompany the team on its upcoming road trip through Baltimore and Pittsburgh. Valbuena was placed on the 15-day disabled list July 27 with a right hamstring injury. ... Cardinals OF Matt Holliday will undergo a surgical procedure Wednesday on his fractured right thumb with the hope of returning before the end of the season. Holliday was placed on the 15-day disabled list Aug. 13. He is in the final season of a seven-year, $120 million contract.