Astros Lose Series Opener To Cardinals

The Astros dropped their series opener in St. Louis. Houston lost to the Cardinals 4-2 at Busch Stadium. Martin Maldonado hit his fifth home run of the season in the losing effort. Starting pitcher Framber Valdez was charged the loss after he allowed four earned runs through six innings. The Astros have lost three of four and are sitting third in the AL West at 42-and-37. They will send right-hander Cristian Javier to the mound against the Cardinals tonight. On the injury front, MLB-Dot-Com is reporting that starting pitcher Jose Urquidy threw a 25-pitch bullpen session yesterday.