Goldschmidt's latest homer lifts Cards over Astros

[July 27, 2019]  Paul Goldschmidt homered for a fifth consecutive game, his three-run blast in the eighth inning lifting the St. Louis Cardinals to a 5-3 victory over the visiting Houston Astros on Friday.

The Cardinals won their sixth consecutive game and claimed the opener of a three-game interleague series by parlaying two late-inning homers into four runs against the Houston bullpen.

Matt Wieters belted a game-tying home run off Astros right-hander Will Harris, his ninth of the year, an inning before Goldschmidt took right-hander Ryan Pressly (2-2) out to center field for his 23rd homer.

Pressly, who entered with a 3-2 lead, failed to retire any of the three batters he faced.

St. Louis' Carlos Martinez worked around a single in the ninth to earn his 10th save.

Michael Brantley drove in all three runs for Houston. His two-run home run to right-center field plated Alex Bregman and broke the scoreless tie in the fourth inning. Bregman had drawn a one-out walk against Cardinals right-hander Jack Flaherty.

Brantley worked a two-out, bases-loaded walk against Cardinals left-hander Andrew Miller (4-4) to nudge Houston ahead again in the top of the eighth. Miller recovered to strike out Carlos Correa, back in the Astros' lineup following a 50-game absence, setting the stage for the Goldschmidt heroics.

Cardinals starting pitcher Jack Flaherty (22) pitches against the Houston Astros during the second inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joe Puetz-USA TODAY Sports

Flaherty, who retired the final seven batters he faced, allowed two runs on three hits and one walk with nine strikeouts over six innings.

Rookie right-hander Jose Urquidy delivered a second consecutive strong start for the Astros. He gave up one run on four hits, all singles, and two walks with six strikeouts over six innings.

St. Louis scratched across a run in the bottom of the fourth, posting three hits in the frame, capped by an RBI single by Kolten Wong that plated Goldschmidt and sliced the deficit to 2-1.

--Field Level Media

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