By MATT PIKE
St. Joseph Post
Lars Nootbaar crushed a big three run home run as the St. Louis Cardinals broke through in the fifth inning to take a series win from the Houston Astros, winning 4-1 on Wednesday afternoon at Busch Stadium.
The Astros scored their lone run of the game in the first inning, getting to starting pitcher Steven Matz in his first start of the season right away. Jose Altuve singled to lead off the game, which was followed by a single from Jeremy Peña, Altuve going first to third and Peña advancing to second on the throw. A ground out by Isaac Paredes drove in Altuve.
From there, Matz settled in and retired the next 14 batters he faced, pitching a solid five innings before handing it off to the bullpen and reliever Ryan Fernandez. Fernandez, Kyle Leahy, Phil Maton, and Ryan Helsley combined to give up just two more hits the rest of the game.
St. Louis got that clutch home run from Nootbaar in the fifth inning to take the lead. Victor Scott II and Thomas Saggese hit back to back singles to open the inning, before Nootbaar crushed the ball 418 feet to center field for his third home run of the season. The Redbirds added the final run the very next inning Saggese hitting an RBI double to score Jordan Walker.
In his first start of the season, Matz earned his first win as well pitching five innings and striking out five batters, giving up one run on two hits. Helsley earned his third save of the season, walking one batter but giving up no hits. At the plate, Saggese led the way going 2-4 with one RBI, while Nootbaar was 1-3 with the home run, three RBI's and two walks.
St. Louis begins a new series tomorrow, hitting the road once again for a four game series with the New York Mets. Andre Pallante opens the series for the Cardinals, looking to improve to 3-0, the Mets starter is listed as TBD. First pitch is at 6:10, pregame will be joined at 6 on KY 102 (102.5 FM).
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