Albers sharp as Astros edge Cardinals <h3>HOUSTON 2, ST LOUIS 1</h3>By Jeremy Rakes PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer HOUSTON (Ticker) -- Lance Berkman hit his 26th home run of theseason and Matt Albers threw seven strong innings as the HoustonAstros posted a 2-1 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals atMinute Maid Park on Thursday afternoon. Berkman gave the Astros a one-run advantage in the fourth afterhe led off the inning with a 408-foot solo blast into the upperdeck in right field. It was Berkman's second homer in as manydays. He is batting .408 with six homers and 14 RBIs in his last 19games. Albers (4-6) had a stellar start, allowing one run and threehits while walking four and striking out three in seven frames.Chad Qualls pitched the eighth and Brad Lidge tossed ascoreless ninth for his 14th save. Berkman's shot came after the Cardinals tied the game in thethird. St. Louis starter Joel Pineiro (3-2) started the inningwith a single to left, his first hit of the season and just thethird of his career. Rookie Brendan Ryan followed with a double to deep left-centerfield, advancing Pineiro to third. Pineiro scored when DavidEckstein grounded out to short to make it 1-1. Albers got out of further trouble when Rick Ankiel lined out toBerkman at first. After Albert Pujols was intentionally walked,Juan Encarnacion grounded out to Eric Munson to retire theside. Houston got on the board in the second inning. Mike Lamb wasissued a one-out walk and Luke Scott doubled to left, scoringLamb from first. Scott, however, was thrown out trying tostretch the hit into a triple. The Astros missed a chance to extend their lead in the sixthwhen rookie Hunter Pence led off with a single to left. Pencethen advanced to third when Pineiro's pick-off throw to firstwent behind Pujols and down the line. But Houston could not get Pence home as Chris Burke popped tosecond, Berkman grounded out to the pitcher and Carlos Leegrounded out to third to end the threat. Pineiro had another good outing for St. Louis since coming overfrom the Boston Red Sox at the July 31 trade deadline. Therighthander allowed two runs and five hits while walking one andstriking out three in six innings. The Cardinals (64-66), who now have lost two in a row after athree-game winning streak, trail the Chicago Cubs (67-64) by 21/2 games in the National League Central. Later Thursday night, the Cubs face the Milwaukee Brewers(66-66), who are 1 1/2 games back in the division.
Albers sharp as Astros edge Cardinals <h3>HOUSTON 2, ST LOUIS 1</h3>By Jeremy Rakes PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer HOUSTON (Ticker) - Lance Berkman hit his 26th home run of theseason and Matt Albers threw seven strong innings as the HoustonAstros posted a 2-1 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals atMinute Maid Park on Thursday afternoon. Berkman gave the Astros a one-run advantage in the fourth afterhe led off the inning with a 408-foot solo blast into the upperdeck in right field. It was Berkman's second homer in as manydays. He is batting .408 with six homers and 14 RBIs in his last 19games. "You never think, in the fourth inning, that it's going to holdup," Berkman said. "But our pitching really came through. (NewAstros manager Cecil Cooper) has done a tremendous job already. "He's always been a man of dignity and he commands respect. Theway he's come in and established his own style has beenimpressive. I'm excited to see how he's going to do the rest ofthe way." Albers (4-6) had a stellar start, allowing one run and threehits while walking four and striking out three in seven frames.Chad Qualls pitched the eighth and Brad Lidge tossed a scorelessninth for his 14th save. "I felt pretty good," Albers said. "My fastball was down in thezone, and I mixed my curve in. Things went pretty well for me.I think this is one of my better starts. I'm starting to feelmore comfortable on the mound. I'm trying to just trust mystuff and try not to make too good a pitch." Berkman's shot came after the Cardinals tied the game in thethird. St. Louis starter Joel Pineiro (3-2) started the inningwith a single to left, his first hit of the season and just thethird of his career. Rookie Brendan Ryan followed with a double to deep left-centerfield, advancing Pineiro to third. Pineiro scored when DavidEckstein grounded out to short to make it 1-1. Albers got out of further trouble when Rick Ankiel lined out toBerkman at first. After Albert Pujols was intentionally walked,Juan Encarnacion grounded out to Eric Munson to retire theside. "He was awful good," Cooper said of Albers. "Matty's growing upa little bit and shown he's a big-league pitcher. I'm veryproud of him. He made some big pitches after that. He grew upa little bit today. This kid has a chance to be a big-time,big-league pitcher." Houston got on the board in the second inning. Mike Lamb wasissued a one-out walk and Luke Scott doubled to left, scoringLamb from first. Scott, however, was thrown out trying tostretch the hit into a triple. The Astros missed a chance to extend their lead in the sixthwhen rookie Hunter Pence led off with a single to left. Pencethen advanced to third when Pineiro's pick-off throw to firstwent behind Pujols and down the line. But Houston could not get Pence home as Chris Burke popped tosecond, Berkman grounded out to the pitcher and Carlos Leegrounded out to third to end the threat. Pineiro had another good outing for St. Louis since coming overfrom the Boston Red Sox at the July 31 trade deadline. Therighthander allowed two runs and five hits while walking one andstriking out three in six innings. "One mistake was all it took, and it was enough," Pineiro said."Just got to tip your cap to Albers. He did his job. One pitchto Berkman was enough. I knew that the one pitch could havebeen enough. Tough luck. "We wanted to come in here and win the series, but there'snothing you can do. We battled, but we were one run short." The Cardinals (64-66), who now have lost two in a row after athree-game winning streak, trail the Chicago Cubs (67-64) by 21/2 games in the National League Central. "(Pineiro) pitched a winning game," St. Louis manager TonyLaRussa said. "We had a couple chances but not a lot. It was aclose game. We needed to have something break for us, butnothing did. That's just to their credit. "We were competing our best. Just give credit to theirpitchers. He pitched well. He's got a good assortment. He hasa lot of movement. He stays out of the middle." Later Thursday night, the Cubs face the Milwaukee Brewers(66-66), who are 1 1/2 games back in the division.
