Houston took game 1 against the St. Louis Cardinals on Tuesday with a balanced attack that led to the 8-2 victory. The win brings the ‘Stros record to 30-23 and bumps them into 2nd place just 1.5 games behind the division leading Chicago Cubs.
Hunter Pence had the best game by far for the Astros going 5-for-5 with 2 RBI. The RBI bring his total to 31 this season and the flawless hitting have him at a .311 clip. Miguel Tejada also had a nice game going 1-for-5 with 2 RBI and a run scored. The solo hit was a 2 run homer in the 5th inning giving him a total of 6 for the season. Carlos Lee had another good game for the Astros going 1-for-4 with 2 RBI and a run scored. His RBI total stands at 45 and his batting average sits at .275. Ty Wiggington also hit for a RBI giving him his 7th of the season along with J.R. Towles who got his 13 RBI of the year.
Shawn Chacon took the mound for the Astros and pitched a very solid game. He work 7 innings giving up 7 hits but only 2 runs off 2 homers and he struck out 7. Tim Byrdak and Oscar Villarreal came in to finish the game they only allowed 1 hit combined in their 2 innings of work. Chacon was given the win for his ball club bringing his record to 2-0 and his ERA stands at 3.95.
A good way to open up a series against a division for like the Cardinals. Even better is that it given the ‘Stros a edge over the Cards in the division race. They will look to take another game on Wednesday night as they match up for game 2.
