St. Louis Cardinals split series with 4-3 loss to Houston Astros

On Wednesday, the St. Louis Cardinals lost 4-3 to the Houston Astros.
Jun 26, 2013; Houston, TX, USA; St. Louis Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina (4) crosses home after hitting a two-run home run against the Houston Astros during the first inning at Minute Maid Park. Image Credit: Thomas Campbell-USA TODAY Sports
Lance Lynn got the start for the Cards and pitched deep into the game. Lynn was pulled after 7.2 innings as he had thrown 106 pitches on the night. Lynn allowed 5 hits, 4 runs, 4 walks, and struck out 4 batters. With the loss, Lynn now moves to 10-2 on the season with a 3.52 ERA. It was Lynn’s first loss since picking up a loss to the Chicago Cubs on May 7, 2013.

With 2 outs in the 8th inning and a runner on 2nd, manager Mike Matheny made the decision to send in Kevin Siegrist from the bullpen to replace Lynn on the mound.

For the Cardinals, they got on the board early with a 2-0 lead resulting from Yadier Molina‘s 2-run homer that scored Matt Carpenter. It was Carpenter’s 58th run scored this season. He leads the club and is second only to Carlos Gonzales of the Colorado Rockies.

Allen Craig led off the 4th inning with a solo home run to give the Cardinals a 3-0 lead.

Unfortunately, the lead was not safe. The Astros scored 4 runs in the bottom of the 4th inning. Those would be the final runs of the game.

The Cardinals tried to rally in the 9th inning. With one out, Jon Jay singled and Matt Adams walked but that was it for the night as Daniel Descalso struck out and Carpenter flied out.