Kyle Tucker drove in five runs and Alex Bregman hit a grand slam as the visiting Houston Astros routed the St. Louis Cardinals 14-0 on Thursday.
Tucker hit a two-run single and a three-run homer as the Astros won their second straight game to claim the series.
Jose Abreu drove in two runs and Jose Altuve had an RBI single, two walks and two runs.
Houston starting pitcher J.P. France (3-3) blanked the Cardinals on four hits over seven innings. He reached the quality start metric for the fifth straight game.
Adam Wainwright (3-3) retired just five batters for the Cardinals in his 400th career start. He allowed six runs on six hits and three walks.
Wainwright stranded two runners in the first inning, but he ran out of answers in the second inning as the Astros broke out to a 6-0 lead.
Corey Julks hit a leadoff single and came around to score as Bligh Madris walked, Jeremy Pena grounded into a forceout, and Altuve hit a RBI single.
After Bregman walked, Tucker hit a two-run single, Abreu lined a two-run double and Yanier Diaz hit a RBI single to finish Wainwright.
The Cardinals threatened France in the third inning when Paul DeJong drew a one-out walk and Brendan Donovan hit a two-out infield single. But France coaxed an inning-ending groundout from Paul Goldschmidt to strand them.
After Steven Matz blanked Houston for 3 1/3 innings, the Astros jumped on Jake Woodford for three runs in the sixth inning. Altuve walked, Bregman hit a single and Tucker blasted his three-run homer to push Houston’s lead to 9-0.
The Astros tacked on in the eighth inning. Jake Meyers hit a double, Grae Kissinger walked, and Julks hit an RBI single to make it 10-0.
Designated hitter Alec Burleson, a former college hurler, pitched the ninth inning for the Cardinals and allowed six hits, including Bregman’s grand slam.
–Field Level Media
