The Astros kicked off their three-game set with the St. Louis Cardinals on the wrong foot Tuesday night, as Houston batters could muster only five total hits in a 7-0 shutout defeat.
Houston starter Lucas Harrell took the loss to drop to 10-9 on the year, and was out-dueled in every feasible way by Cardinals ace Adam Wainwright. The veteran Wainwright walked away with a complete-game, five-hit shutout in addition to fanning 12 Astros hitters on the night and just one walk.
Offensively, leadoff hitter Jose Altuve was one of just five Houston players to pick up a hit, as the All-Star second baseman is now batting .303 on the season. After a slow month of July where he struggled to find extra-base hits, Altuve has picked things up in a big way and currently sports a .405 on-base percentage so far in August.
Now losers of five consecutive games, the second time this month the Astros have faced such a streak, Houston will send right-hander Bud Norris to the hill on Wednesday for game two of the series.
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