The offensive woes continued on Tuesday night at Minute Maid Park, as the Houston Astros once again came up short in a 4-0 defeat at the hands of the St. Louis Cardinals in Game 2 of the series.
Houston finished with seven hits offensively, and was led by a pair of two-hit efforts from infielders Jose Altuve and Brandon Laird. Astros starter Lucas Harrell was unfortunately saddled with his 11th loss of the season after yielding a pair of runs on seven hits in the game, and was no match for St. Louis' dialed-in left-hander Jaime Garcia on the evening.
The 27-year-old Harrell has now dropped three consecutive starts against the Cardinals this year after opening the season with two victories over the divisional rival.
Now with just two runs scored over their last three games, the Astros will look to inconsistent righty Bud Norris (5-13, 5.05 ERA) for the third and final game of the series on Wednesday. Recently activated veteran Chris Carpenter (0-0, 3.60 ERA) will toe the rubber for the Cardinals, as his team continues to remain in the thick of the playoff race.