GAME THREAD: GAME THREAD: NL: ST LOUIS (23-30) at HOUSTON (23-32)

NL: ST LOUIS (23-30) at HOUSTON (23-32)

<h2>Both Astros and Cardinals in need of a spark</h2>



St Louis (23-30) at Houston (23-32), 2:05 pm EDT

HOUSTON (Ticker) -- A pair of teams looking to rebound fromdisappointing starts meet Sunday when the St. Louis Cardinalsvisit the Houston Astros in the finale of a three-game series.

<div class="pre">St. Louis, the defending World Series champions, has not been</div>above .500 this season since starting 6-5. Houston meanwhile istrying to forget about their 10-game losing skid which came toan end on Thursday.

Cardinals starter Braden Looper (6-4, 3.65 ERA) has pitched wellthis season, but when he has pitched bad, he has pitched verybad. That was the case in his last start on Tuesday when heallowed six run in 5 2/3 innings during the team's 8-3 loss tothe Colorado Rockies. Looper won his only start against Houstonon May 6, holding the team to one run in six innings as theCardinals prevailed, 3-1.

Jason Jennings (0-1, 2.12) makes his second start for the Astrossince returning from the disabled list with elbow tendinitis.He pitched five scoreless innings in the Astros' 2-1 loss to theCincinnati Reds on Tuesday and did not factor in the decision.

Carlos Lee hit a two-run homer and Adam Everett and Luke Scotteach added solo shots in Houston's 8-3 win here on Saturday.Hunter Pence had two hits and is hitting .421 (16-of-38) in hislast 10 games with eight multi-hit contests.

Lance Berkman has 782 RBI and needs one more to pass Bob Watsonfor fourth place on Houston's all-time list.

Since May 27, Cardinals outfielder Jim Edmonds is hitting .323(10-for-31) with five home runs and eight RBI.

 

NL: ST LOUIS at HOUSTON

<div class="pre">ST LOUIS AT HOUSTON -- LINEUPS

ST LOUIS HOUSTON
AVG HR RBI AVG HR RBI
David Eckstein SS .280 1 9 Mark Loretta 2B .333 0 11
Scott Spiezio 3B .274 1 17 Mike Lamb 1B .264 2 5
Albert Pujols 1B .289 9 28 Hunter Pence CF .358 4 21
Jim Edmonds CF .240 6 19 Carlos Lee LF .321 11 52
Juan Encarnacion RF .230 1 7 Luke Scott RF .231 5 27
Ryan Ludwick LF .245 0 6 Morgan Ensberg 3B .226 5 14
Gary Bennett C .254 1 8 Eric Munson C .333 0 0
Brendan Ryan 2B .000 0 0 Adam Everett SS .222 2 12
Braden Looper RHP .167 0 2 Jason Jennings RHP .000 0 0
(6-4, 3.64) (0-1, 2.12)</div>

 

NL: ST LOUIS at HOUSTON

<div class="pre">NL AT HOUSTON
WARMUPS: STL - BRADEN LOOPER (6-4, 3.64)
HOU - JASON JENNINGS (0-1, 2.12)

UMPIRES: HP - ADRIAN JOHNSON
1B - JIM REYNOLDS
2B - GARY CEDERSTROM
3B - LANCE BARKSDALE

WEATHER: INDOORS</div>

 

NL: ST LOUIS at HOUSTON

<div class="pre">NL AT HOUSTON
STARTING BATS: STL - BRADEN LOOPER AND GARY BENNETT
HOU - JASON JENNINGS AND ERIC MUNSON

DUE UP FOR ST LOUIS: D ECKSTEIN (.280, 1 HR, 9 RBI)
S SPIEZIO (.274, 1 HR, 17 RBI)
A PUJOLS (.289, 9 HR, 28 RBI)</div>

 

NL: ST LOUIS at HOUSTON

<div class="pre">NL AT HOUSTON - SCORING UPDATE
SOLO HOME RUN BY DAVID ECKSTEIN (2) TO LEFT WITH 0 OUT IN
THE 1ST OFF JASON JENNINGS.
CURRENT SCORE: ST LOUIS 1, HOUSTON 0

DUE UP FOR ST LOUIS: S SPIEZIO (.274, 1 HR, 17 RBI)</div>

 

NL: ST LOUIS at HOUSTON

<div class="pre">NL ST LOUIS AT HOUSTON
NOTE: THE HOME RUN BY ST LOUIS SHORTSTOP DAVID ECKSTEIN LED
OFF THE GAME.</div>

 

NL: ST LOUIS at HOUSTON

<div class="pre">NL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
ST LOUIS 1 1 1 0
HOUSTON 0 0 0 (BOT 1)

CURRENT PITCHERS: STL - BRADEN LOOPER
HOU - JASON JENNINGS

DUE UP FOR HOUSTON: M LORETTA (.333, 0 HR, 11 RBI)
M LAMB (.264, 2 HR, 5 RBI)
H PENCE (.358, 4 HR, 21 RBI)</div>

 

NL: ST LOUIS at HOUSTON

<div class="pre">ST LOUIS (1) VS HOUSTON (0) - MID 1ST - IN PROGRESS

ST LOUIS ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
D Eckstein ss 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 .285
S Spiezio 3b 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .271
A Pujols 1b 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .288
J Edmonds cf 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .239
J Encarnacion rf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .230
R Ludwick lf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .245
G Bennett c 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .254
B Ryan 2b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
B Looper p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .167

Totals 4 1 1 1 0 0 0

BATTING: HR - D Eckstein (2, 1st inning off J Jennings 0 on, 0 Out). RBI - D
Eckstein (10). Team LOB - 0.


HOUSTON ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
M Loretta 2b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .333
M Lamb 1b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .264
H Pence cf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .358
C Lee lf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .321
L Scott rf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .231
M Ensberg 3b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .226
E Munson c 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .333
A Everett ss 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .222
J Jennings p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000

Totals 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

BATTING: Team LOB - 0.


----------------------------------------------------
ST LOUIS - 1 -- 1
HOUSTON - -- 0
----------------------------------------------------

ST LOUIS ip h r er bb so hr era
B Looper 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3.64

HOUSTON ip h r er bb so hr era
J Jennings 1 1 1 1 0 0 1 2.50

Pitches-strikes: J Jennings 12-8. Ground balls-fly balls: J Jennings 1-2.
Batters faced: J Jennings 4.

UMPIRES: HP--Adrian Johnson. 1B--Jim Reynolds. 2B--Gary Cederstrom. 3B--Lance
Barksdale.

Weather: INDOORS.</div>

 

NL: ST LOUIS at HOUSTON

<div class="pre">NL AT HOUSTON
CONFIRMED STARTERS: STL - BRADEN LOOPER
HOU - JASON JENNINGS</div>

 

NL: ST LOUIS at HOUSTON

<div class="pre">NL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
ST LOUIS 1 1 1 0
HOUSTON 0 0 1 0 (TOP 2)

CURRENT PITCHERS: STL - BRADEN LOOPER
HOU - JASON JENNINGS

DUE UP FOR ST LOUIS: J ENCARNACION (.230, 1 HR, 7 RBI)
R LUDWICK (.245, 0 HR, 6 RBI)
G BENNETT (.254, 1 HR, 8 RBI)</div>

 

NL: ST LOUIS at HOUSTON

<div class="pre">ST LOUIS (1) VS HOUSTON (0) - END 1ST - IN PROGRESS

ST LOUIS ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
D Eckstein ss 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 .285
S Spiezio 3b 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .271
A Pujols 1b 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .288
J Edmonds cf 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .239
J Encarnacion rf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .230
R Ludwick lf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .245
G Bennett c 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .254
B Ryan 2b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
B Looper p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .167

Totals 4 1 1 1 0 0 0

BATTING: HR - D Eckstein (2, 1st inning off J Jennings 0 on, 0 Out). RBI - D
Eckstein (10). Team LOB - 0.


HOUSTON ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
M Loretta 2b 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .330
M Lamb 1b 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .261
H Pence cf 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 .363
C Lee lf 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .319
L Scott rf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .231
M Ensberg 3b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .226
E Munson c 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .333
A Everett ss 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .222
J Jennings p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000

Totals 4 0 1 0 0 0 1

BATTING: Team LOB - 1.


----------------------------------------------------
ST LOUIS - 1 -- 1
HOUSTON - 0 -- 0
----------------------------------------------------

ST LOUIS ip h r er bb so hr era
B Looper 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 3.59

HOUSTON ip h r er bb so hr era
J Jennings 1 1 1 1 0 0 1 2.50

Pitches-strikes: B Looper 18-10; J Jennings 12-8. Ground balls-fly balls: B
Looper 2-1; J Jennings 1-2. Batters faced: B Looper 4; J Jennings 4.

UMPIRES: HP--Adrian Johnson. 1B--Jim Reynolds. 2B--Gary Cederstrom. 3B--Lance
Barksdale.

Weather: INDOORS.</div>

 

NL: ST LOUIS at HOUSTON

<div class="pre">NL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
ST LOUIS 1 0 1 1 0
HOUSTON 0 0 1 0 (BOT 2)

CURRENT PITCHERS: STL - BRADEN LOOPER
HOU - JASON JENNINGS

DUE UP FOR HOUSTON: L SCOTT (.231, 5 HR, 27 RBI)
M ENSBERG (.226, 5 HR, 14 RBI)
E MUNSON (.333, 0 HR, 0 RBI)</div>

 

NL: ST LOUIS at HOUSTON

<div class="pre">ST LOUIS (1) VS HOUSTON (0) - MID 2ND - IN PROGRESS

ST LOUIS ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
D Eckstein ss 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 .285
S Spiezio 3b 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .271
A Pujols 1b 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .288
J Edmonds cf 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .239
J Encarnacion rf 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .226
R Ludwick lf 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .241
G Bennett c 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .250
B Ryan 2b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
B Looper p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .167

Totals 7 1 1 1 0 1 0

BATTING: HR - D Eckstein (2, 1st inning off J Jennings 0 on, 0 Out). RBI - D
Eckstein (10). Team LOB - 0.


HOUSTON ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
M Loretta 2b 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .330
M Lamb 1b 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .261
H Pence cf 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 .363
C Lee lf 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .319
L Scott rf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .231
M Ensberg 3b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .226
E Munson c 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .333
A Everett ss 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .222
J Jennings p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000

Totals 4 0 1 0 0 0 1

BATTING: Team LOB - 1.


----------------------------------------------------
ST LOUIS - 10 -- 1
HOUSTON - 0 -- 0
----------------------------------------------------

ST LOUIS ip h r er bb so hr era
B Looper 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 3.59

HOUSTON ip h r er bb so hr era
J Jennings 2 1 1 1 0 1 1 2.37

Pitches-strikes: B Looper 18-10; J Jennings 24-15. Ground balls-fly balls: B
Looper 2-1; J Jennings 2-3. Batters faced: B Looper 4; J Jennings 7.

UMPIRES: HP--Adrian Johnson. 1B--Jim Reynolds. 2B--Gary Cederstrom. 3B--Lance
Barksdale.

Weather: INDOORS.</div>

 

NL: ST LOUIS at HOUSTON

<div class="pre">NL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
ST LOUIS 1 0 1 1 0
HOUSTON 0 0 0 1 0 (TOP 3)

CURRENT PITCHERS: STL - BRADEN LOOPER
HOU - JASON JENNINGS

DUE UP FOR ST LOUIS: B RYAN (.000, 0 HR, 0 RBI)
B LOOPER (.167, 0 HR, 2 RBI)
D ECKSTEIN (.285, 1-FOR-1, HR, RBI)</div>

 

NL: ST LOUIS at HOUSTON

<div class="pre">ST LOUIS (1) VS HOUSTON (0) - END 2ND - IN PROGRESS

ST LOUIS ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
D Eckstein ss 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 .285
S Spiezio 3b 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .271
A Pujols 1b 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .288
J Edmonds cf 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .239
J Encarnacion rf 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .226
R Ludwick lf 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .241
G Bennett c 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .250
B Ryan 2b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
B Looper p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .167

Totals 7 1 1 1 0 1 0

BATTING: HR - D Eckstein (2, 1st inning off J Jennings 0 on, 0 Out). RBI - D
Eckstein (10). Team LOB - 0.


HOUSTON ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
M Loretta 2b 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .330
M Lamb 1b 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .261
H Pence cf 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 .363
C Lee lf 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .319
L Scott rf 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .230
M Ensberg 3b 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .224
E Munson c 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .250
A Everett ss 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .222
J Jennings p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000

Totals 7 0 1 0 0 1 1

BATTING: Team LOB - 1.


----------------------------------------------------
ST LOUIS - 10 -- 1
HOUSTON - 00 -- 0
----------------------------------------------------

ST LOUIS ip h r er bb so hr era
B Looper 2 1 0 0 0 1 0 3.54

HOUSTON ip h r er bb so hr era
J Jennings 2 1 1 1 0 1 1 2.37

Pitches-strikes: B Looper 31-18; J Jennings 24-15. Ground balls-fly balls: B
Looper 3-2; J Jennings 2-3. Batters faced: B Looper 7; J Jennings 7.

UMPIRES: HP--Adrian Johnson. 1B--Jim Reynolds. 2B--Gary Cederstrom. 3B--Lance
Barksdale.

Weather: INDOORS.</div>

 

NL: ST LOUIS at HOUSTON

<div class="pre">NL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
ST LOUIS 1 0 0 1 1 0
HOUSTON 0 0 0 1 0 (BOT 3)

CURRENT PITCHERS: STL - BRADEN LOOPER
HOU - JASON JENNINGS

DUE UP FOR HOUSTON: A EVERETT (.222, 2 HR, 12 RBI)
J JENNINGS (.000, 0 HR, 0 RBI)
M LORETTA (.330, 0-FOR-1)</div>

 

NL: ST LOUIS at HOUSTON

<div class="pre">ST LOUIS (1) VS HOUSTON (0) - MID 3RD - IN PROGRESS

ST LOUIS ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
D Eckstein ss 2 1 1 1 0 0 0 .283
S Spiezio 3b 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .271
A Pujols 1b 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .288
J Edmonds cf 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .239
J Encarnacion rf 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .226
R Ludwick lf 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .241
G Bennett c 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .250
B Ryan 2b 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
B Looper p 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .158

Totals 10 1 1 1 0 1 0

BATTING: HR - D Eckstein (2, 1st inning off J Jennings 0 on, 0 Out). RBI - D
Eckstein (10). Team LOB - 0.


HOUSTON ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
M Loretta 2b 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .330
M Lamb 1b 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .261
H Pence cf 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 .363
C Lee lf 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .319
L Scott rf 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .230
M Ensberg 3b 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .224
E Munson c 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .250
A Everett ss 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .222
J Jennings p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000

Totals 7 0 1 0 0 1 1

BATTING: Team LOB - 1.


----------------------------------------------------
ST LOUIS - 100 -- 1
HOUSTON - 00 -- 0
----------------------------------------------------

ST LOUIS ip h r er bb so hr era
B Looper 2 1 0 0 0 1 0 3.54

HOUSTON ip h r er bb so hr era
J Jennings 3 1 1 1 0 1 1 2.25

Pitches-strikes: B Looper 31-18; J Jennings 31-20. Ground balls-fly balls: B
Looper 3-2; J Jennings 4-4. Batters faced: B Looper 7; J Jennings 10.

UMPIRES: HP--Adrian Johnson. 1B--Jim Reynolds. 2B--Gary Cederstrom. 3B--Lance
Barksdale.

Weather: INDOORS.</div>

 

NL: ST LOUIS at HOUSTON

<div class="pre">NL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
ST LOUIS 1 0 0 1 1 0
HOUSTON 0 0 0 0 1 0 (TOP 4)

CURRENT PITCHERS: STL - BRADEN LOOPER
HOU - JASON JENNINGS

DUE UP FOR ST LOUIS: S SPIEZIO (.271, 0-FOR-1)
A PUJOLS (.288, 0-FOR-1)
J EDMONDS (.239, 0-FOR-1)</div>

 

NL: ST LOUIS at HOUSTON

<div class="pre">ST LOUIS (1) VS HOUSTON (0) - END 3RD - IN PROGRESS

ST LOUIS ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
D Eckstein ss 2 1 1 1 0 0 0 .283
S Spiezio 3b 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .271
A Pujols 1b 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .288
J Edmonds cf 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .239
J Encarnacion rf 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .226
R Ludwick lf 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .241
G Bennett c 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .250
B Ryan 2b 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
B Looper p 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .158

Totals 10 1 1 1 0 1 0

BATTING: HR - D Eckstein (2, 1st inning off J Jennings 0 on, 0 Out). RBI - D
Eckstein (10). Team LOB - 0.


HOUSTON ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
M Loretta 2b 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 .327
M Lamb 1b 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .261
H Pence cf 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 .363
C Lee lf 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .319
L Scott rf 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .230
M Ensberg 3b 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .224
E Munson c 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .250
A Everett ss 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .220
J Jennings p 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000

Totals 10 0 1 0 0 1 1

BATTING: Team LOB - 1.


----------------------------------------------------
ST LOUIS - 100 -- 1
HOUSTON - 000 -- 0
----------------------------------------------------

ST LOUIS ip h r er bb so hr era
B Looper 3 1 0 0 0 1 0 3.49

HOUSTON ip h r er bb so hr era
J Jennings 3 1 1 1 0 1 1 2.25

Pitches-strikes: B Looper 42-25; J Jennings 31-20. Ground balls-fly balls: B
Looper 5-3; J Jennings 4-4. Batters faced: B Looper 10; J Jennings 10.

UMPIRES: HP--Adrian Johnson. 1B--Jim Reynolds. 2B--Gary Cederstrom. 3B--Lance
Barksdale.

Weather: INDOORS.</div>

 

NL: ST LOUIS at HOUSTON

<div class="pre">NL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
ST LOUIS 1 0 0 0 1 2 0
HOUSTON 0 0 0 0 1 0 (BOT 4)

CURRENT PITCHERS: STL - BRADEN LOOPER
HOU - JASON JENNINGS

DUE UP FOR HOUSTON: M LAMB (.261, 0-FOR-1)
H PENCE (.363, 1-FOR-1)
C LEE (.319, 0-FOR-1)</div>