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Jake Meyers then singled. Following a sacrifice
bunt and a strikeout, Diaz blasted a first-pitch slider out to
left field, his fourth home run covering 393 feet.
Jose Altuve capped the four-run frame with an RBI double off
Ryan Loutos.
The Diaz-Romero confrontation marked an in-game reversal for
both. Romero entered with two outs and a runner on first in the
seventh and fanned Yordan Alvarez to snuff that threat and
protect a 4-3 lead. Alvarez was 2-for-2 with a two-run homer and
a walk before the strikeout.
Diaz tapped a soft grounder back to Cardinals reliever Andrew
Kittredge with the bases loaded and two outs in the sixth. Diaz
was 0-for-3 with two strikeouts before his game-changing homer.
Four Astros relievers combined to toss four shutout innings.
Closer Josh Hader notched his ninth save with a perfect ninth.
Rafael Montero (1-1) earned the victory in relief.
Cardinals second baseman Nolan Gorman clubbed a pair of homers
off Astros right-hander Justin Verlander, who surrendered four
runs on seven hits and two walks with four strikeouts over five
innings.
The Cardinals tagged Verlander for two solo homers in the top of
the first, with Alec Burleson spotting St. Louis a 1-0 lead with
his seventh home run two batters before Gorman socked his 12th
homer 407 feet to right-center.
Verlander labored throughout his outing. Nolan Arenado stroked
an RBI single in the third inning that scored Paul Goldschmidt,
who started a two-out rally with a double, for a 3-0 lead. After
Alvarez sliced the deficit to 3-2 with his 12th home run, a shot
to right off Cardinals starter Kyle Gibson in the bottom of the
third, Gorman stretched the margin back to two runs with his
one-out shot in the fifth.
Astros right fielder Kyle Tucker departed in the third inning
after fouling a pitch off his right leg.
--Field Level Media [© 2024 Thomson Reuters. All rights
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