The Houston Astros Are Looking for a Bright Spot against the St. Louis Cardinals

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The Houston Astros Are Looking for a Bright Spot against the St. Louis Cardinals

The Houston Astros Will not make the playoffs and are looking for something to be happy about this year.

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With a major league career that’s spanned just seven games, Jose Altuve is already a bright spot in a dismal season for the Houston Astros.

Altuve will try to set a new franchise record Thursday night as the MLB-worst Astros seek a split of their four-game series with the new-look St. Louis Cardinals.

Altuve’s ninth-inning single, his third hit of the game, knocked in the go-ahead run Wednesday and the Astros (34-70) halted a five-game losing streak with a 4-2 victory.

“I feel really good, not just at home plate,” Altuve said after driving in his first run. “Like I’ve said before, I want to prove I can play here and play hard.”

Since being recalled from Double-A Corpus Christi on July 19, the 21-year-old Altuve has hit safely in each of his first seven games, matching the franchise record set by Russ Johnson in 1997. Altuve, who led all minor leaguers with a .389 average, is batting .423 (11 for 26) in the big leagues.

Jon Jay and Yadier Molina drove in runs for St. Louis just hours after the team completed a three-way trade.

“We address our needs of getting a starter and a left-handed reliever and bullpen help,” Cardinals general manager John Mozeliak said.

St. Louis (55-49) is one-half game behind first-place Milwaukee in the NL Central, and just one game in front of third-place Pittsburgh.

Jaime Garcia (10-4, 3.01 ERA), who gets the call for the Cardinals in the finale, has been one of the best pitchers at home this year by going 6-1 with a major league-low 1.14 ERA in nine starts. The left-hander has surrendered just eight earned runs in 63 1-3 innings at Busch Stadium.

Garcia, though, is 0-2 with a 5.87 ERA in three career outings against Houston.

Pitching at Pittsburgh on Saturday, Garcia won for the fourth time in five starts overall after giving up a run in 7 1-3 innings of the Cardinals’ 9-1 victory.

Astros center fielder Michael Bourn, who is batting .411 (23 for 56) while hitting in all 12 games since the All-Star break, is 0 for 3 with a strikeout against Garcia.

Houston’s Wandy Rodriguez (6-7, 3.60) will try once again for his first win since June 30. The left-hander is 0-3 in four starts this month, allowing 16 runs and 24 hits in 24 innings.

He’s coming off a tough loss to the Chicago Cubs on Saturday, when he yielded two runs, both on solo homers, among three hits alongside seven strikeouts in seven innings of a 5-1 defeat.

With 10.1 strikeouts per nine innings in July, Rodriguez is one of eight pitchers averaging double digits.

Rodriguez will face the Cardinals for the first time since holding them to two hits in seven innings of the Astros’ 3-0 home win last Aug. 31. He has a 3.93 ERA in 18 starts against St. Louis, but is just 5-11.

Rodriguez likely won’t have to face former teammate Lance Berkman, who’s expected to miss a second straight game with a shoulder injury. Berkman, who leads the NL with 27 homers, said he hopes to return Friday when the Cardinals open a weekend set versus the Cubs.

The Astros surprise and get a win in the game against the Cardinals.

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