Astros Vs. Cardinals: Houston Falls 5-4 In Series Finale

The Houston Astros were able to keep it closer than they had in the first few games of their series against the St. Louis Cardinals, but the end result was the same. Houston dropped their 102nd game of the season on Thursday against the Cards, 5-4.

Starting pitcher Bud Norris started off poorly, giving up three runs in the first inning. Houston was able to hunker down at that point and work their way back into the game, tying it up, 3-3. Norris leveled out until he was pulled at the start of the sixth inning, eventually getting two more runs tacked onto his record after being pulled.

After Norris left the game, the Astros found one more run in the seventh inning when Brandon Barnes knocked in Scott Moore, which would end up being the final score of the game. They got Jordan Schafer onto second base in the top of the ninth, but Brian Bogusevic struck out on a full count to end the game.

Allen Craig did the most damage for the Cardinals, knocking in three of their runs. Brandon Laird was the leading hitter for the Astros, putting up two RBI on a single hit.

For more on the Astros, be sure to visit The Crawfish Boxes. Additional coverage on the Cardinals can be found at Viva El Birdos, while Baseball Nation is the place to go for news and analysis from around the league.

Astros Vs. Cardinals: Game Time, TV Schedule And More

The Houston Astros look to avoid a sweep at the hands of the playoff-hopeful St. Louis Cardinals while the Red Birds hope to hold off the rest of the NL Wild Card pack Wednesday afternoon in St. Louis.

The Cards (79-70) hold a two-game lead over the Los Angeles Dodgers for the second and final Wild Card spot in the NL. They'll hand the ball to Jaime Garcia (4-7, 4.24 ERA) Wednesday to take on Bud Norris (5-12, 4.93) and the majors-worst Astros (48-101).

The Cardinals won 5-0 Tuesday night, which followed a 4-1 win on Monday. The Cardinals get the benefit of facing the Astros again before the season wraps up when the teams meet for one final three-game set next week in Houston from Sept. 24-26.

Wednesday's game starts at 12:45 p.m. CT and can be seen on Fox Sports Houston.

For more on the Astros, visit The Crawfish Boxes. Head to Baseball Nation for all MLB news and commentary, as well as SB Nation's YouTube channel.

Astros Vs. Cardinals Game Recap: Houston Bats Silenced In 5-0 Loss

A pair of home runs were too much for the Houston Astros to overcome, as the St. Louis Cardinals blanked the Astros 5-0 on Wednesday night in St. Louis.

Astros starter Lucas Harrell (10-10) pitched 5⅔ innings, striking out seven and giving up five hits. Unfortunately for Houston, two of those hits were home runs. David Freese hit a two-run homer in the second inning off Harrell, while catcher Yadier Molina added a solo shot in the fourth inning. St. Louis later added two runs in the eighth off of Houston relievers.

Lance Lynn (16-7) picked up the win for the Cardinals, surrendering just three hits in 6⅓ innings of work. St. Louis relievers Edward Mujica, Mitchell Boggs, and Joe Kelly gave up just two hits to the Astros the rest of the way.

The Astros (48-101) finish the road series against St. Louis (79-70) Thursday in an afternoon start. Bud Norris (5-12, 4.93 ERA) is slated to start for Houston, but is questionable as of now with flu-like symptoms. Jaime Garcia (4-7, 4.24) will start for the Cardinals.

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Astros Vs. Cardinals Lineups: Jed Lowrie To Start For 2nd Straight Game

The Houston Astros, who have been careful with Jed Lowrie since he came off of the disabled list last week, have the shortstop in the lineup for Game 2 of their three-game set against the St. Louis Cardinals. Lowrie will make consecutive starts for the second time since his Sept. 12 return.

Lowrie is 4-for-16 in five games since coming back, while sharing playing time with former Cardinal Tyler Greene. Lowrie will bat fifth in the order on Wednesday.

Here are the full lineups:

Astros

1. Jose Altuve 2B
2. Scott Moore LF
3. Brett Wallace 1B
4. Justin Maxwell CF
5. Jed Lowrie SS
6. Brandon Laird 3B
7. Chris Snyder C
8. Jimmy Paredes RF
9. Lucas Harrell P

Cardinals

1. Jon Jay CF
2. Carlos Beltran RF
3. Matt Holliday LF
4. Allen Craig 1B
5. Yadier Molina C
6. David Freese 3B
7. Skip Schumaker 2B
8. Pete Kozma SS
9. Lance Lynn P

Lucas Harrell (10-9, 3.86 ERA) will take the ball for the Houston, while Lance Lynn (15-7, 3.95 ERA) goes for St. Louis. First pitch is scheduled for 7:15 p.m. CT.

For more on the Astros, be sure to visit The Crawfish Boxes. Additional coverage on the Cardinals can be found at Viva El Birdos, while Baseball Nation is the place to go for news and analysis from around the league.

Houston Astros Reach 100 Losses Two Seasons In A Row

For the second straight season, the Houston Astros have lost 100 games. Their 4-1 setback on Tuesday turned into loss No. 100 on the year, a record that was pretty much inevitable after a disastrous second half of the season.

Now, all that's left for Houston is to try and win just enough to not set another record for team futility. In 2011, the Astros lost 106 games, which set the team record. There are still 14 games left in the season including five against the playoff-hungry St. Louis Cardinals, which doesn't bode well for that goal.

They still haven't hit 1899 Cleveland Spiders territory -- it's hard to imagine any team losing 134 games in the modern era -- but the Astros have certainly shown major futility during the 2012 season, possibly a level unseen before in franchise history.

Be sure to visit The Crawfish Boxes for more Astros coverage, and check out Viva El Birdos for more on the Cardinals. Also head over to Baseball Nation for even more news and analysis from around the league.

Astros Vs. Cardinals Final Score: Houston Falls In Series Opener, 4-1

Unable to push their winning streak to three games, the Houston Astros came up short on Tuesday night against St. Louis in a series-opening loss at Busch Stadium, 4-1.

Houston starter Fernando Abad tossed five innings of three-run ball before exiting with six strikeouts, but still took the loss to drop to 0-4 on the season. Along with holding Astros hitters to just four hits over seven innings of work, St. Louis right-hander Kyle Lohse also managed to help his own cause by smacking an RBI double in the fifth inning to pad his team's lead.

Aside from a Brett Wallace RBI single that plated shortstop Jimmy Paredes in the eighth inning, the Astros were hard-pressed to get much going offensively to kick off the series. Youngster Matt Dominguez did manage to push his meager hitting streak to five games with a 1-4 performance, but it's clear the Astros will need to pick up much more across the board in order to pull out a series victory in their last trip to St. Louis as a National League team.

Now with 100 losses on the season, the Astros have a mere 14 games remaining in their forgettable 2012 campaign. Lucas Harrell, one of the biggest bright spots in a down year for Houston's pitching staff, will take the ball in Game 2 on Wednesday to face St. Louis' Lance Lynn.

Be sure to visit The Crawfish Boxes for more Astros coverage, and check out Viva El Birdos for more on the Cardinals. Also head over to Baseball Nation for even more news and analysis from around the league.

Astros Vs. Cardinals: Game Time, TV Schedule And More

The next time Houston plays in St. Louis, they'll be doing so a member of the AL West.