The Cardinals get three dates in Houston.
The Houston Astros are hosting the St. Louis Cardinals for three games starting tonight.
This is the only time this season that Houston will play against the Cards. The last time they played against each other was last year, from June 27 through June 29, when Houston won two-of-three. In the final game, a 14-0 Houston victory, Kyle Tucker (11) and Alex Bregman (12) each went deep, collecting nine RBI between them. Yainer Diaz and Corey Julks also had three hits in the win. J.P. France (3-3, 3.13) earned the win with seven shutout innings, giving up four hits and two walks.
I just was able to locate, and it was one of those games where everything was working — the cutter shape was really good, I could move the heater in and out like I needed to, the curveball velo was a little higher, so that was always good. I was able to locate that thing down, and the changeup’s been solid the last couple of outings. — France
In the all-time series, Houston is 333-381 versus the Cardinals, with a .466 winning percentage that is their worst against an NL Central opponent.
GameTimes and Starting Pitchers
Monday, 7:10 PM ET: Kyle Gibson (4-2, 3.60) vs. Justin Verlander (3-2, 3.26)
Tuesday, 7:10 PM ET: Andre Pallante (1-1, 3.94) vs. Spencer Arrighetti (3-5, 5.98)
Wednesday, 1:10 PM ET: Miles Mikolas (3-6, 5.54) vs. Ronel Blanco (5-1, 2.44)
The Astros just finished their three-game series against the Minnesota Twins with a win and two losses. In Houston’s lone win, on Saturday, the Astros collected a 5-2 victory to back up a spectacular Framber Valdez (4-3, 3.95) start. He made it to the seventh inning before allowing a hit, earning the win by surrendering two walks and two hits over seven frames, with four strikeouts. Josh Hader (8) earned the save with a perfect ninth. Kyle Tucker (19), Jose Abreu (1) and Yordan Alvarez (10, 11) went deep in the win.
I always tell myself that once you get through six innings with a no-hitter, you got to try to finish it, and whatever happens, happens. If you give up the hit, you give up the hit, but you’ve got to go with the mindset of trying to finish the no-hitter. — Valdez, through an interpreter
The Cardinals arrive in town on the heels of a three-game sweep at the hands of the Philadelphia Phillies. In the final game of the set, a 6-1 loss on Sunday, St. Louis collected a total of five hits while Sonny Gray (7-3, 3.00) struck out 10 over five innings, but lost by allowing four runs on five hits and three walks.
I gave everyone fist bumps, and then after I sat down, I thought about all of the little parts of my career, and never in a million years did I think I would pitch in a big league game. — Ryan Loutos on his major league debut