Cardinals 4, Astros 0
Jaime Garcia pitched seven scoreless innings and visiting St. Louis extended its winning streak to four games to move closer to a playoff berth.
Jon Jay had his third straight two-hit, two-RBI game and Yadier Molina and Pete Kozma drove in runs as the Cardinals moved 4 1/2 games ahead of the Los Angeles Dodgers and Milwaukee Brewers for the National League's second wild card.
Garcia (6-7) did not allow a run for the first time this season and beat Houston for the second time in six days, giving St. Louis its 10th consecutive win over the Astros. The left-hander allowed six hits, struck out five and didn't walk a batter.
Molina opened the scoring with a sacrifice fly in the first inning and Jay doubled the lead with an RBI single in the second to start St. Louis on its way to its eighth win in nine games.
Lucas Harrell (10-11) gave up two runs on seven hits and walked a season-high six in five innings to drop to 0-3 in his last seven starts. Jose Altuve and Brandon Laird had two hits apiece for Houston.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Kozma's run-scoring double in the eighth inning gave him six RBIs in his last four games. ... The Astros have narrowed the pool of candidates for their managerial job to three or four, according to owner Jim Crane, who said he hopes to have it resolved later this week or early next week. ... St. Louis' 10-game winning streak over the Astros is the longest in franchise history. The Cardinals have outscored Houston 66-17 during that span.