Cardinals  6    Astros  11

Recap: Houston vs. St. Louis

Sports Network | July 22, 2009

Houston, TX (Sports Network) - Carlos Lee hit a grand slam and Hunter Pence had a two-run shot, as the Houston Astros topped the St. Louis Cardinals, 11-6, in the second installment of a three-game series.

Miguel Tejada finished with a pair of hits and three runs batted in for the Astros, who took a 3-2 victory in the opener of this set on Monday. They had a higher offensive output Tuesday, reaching double-digit runs for the first time since May 13, when they recorded a 15-11 win over Colorado.

"Right now, we're not going to quit," Tejada said. "I think we have a team that can compete with anybody right now. We're hitting, we play defense, we're pitching; we've got to believe what we've got right now."

Most of Houston's runs came during a five-run seventh that gave the club a 10-1 lead, though St. Louis struck back for five in the top of the eighth.

However, Alberto Arias tossed a scoreless ninth for the Astros, securing the victory for Wandy Rodriguez (10-6). The Houston starter allowed one run in seven innings, taking the win for the fourth consecutive start.

Mark DeRosa homered twice and Ryan Ludwick added a three-run shot for the Cardinals, who have lost three of four overall.

Todd Wellemeyer (7-8) allowed five runs -- four earned -- on seven hits in 4 1/3 innings and took the loss, though P.J. Walters later surrendered six runs -- five earned -- in two-plus innings of relief.

"Today he made a lot of good pitches and he made some mistakes," Cardinals manager Tony LaRussa said of Wellemeyer. "He didn't make enough good pitches, and he didn't get away with any mistakes."

Already holding a 5-1 lead, Houston took command of the game in the bottom of the seventh against Walters.

Rodriguez led off with a double and Michael Bourn walked before Kaz Matsui sacrificed the runners over. Walters then intentionally walked Tejada to get to Lee, who launched a grand slam to left field. Geoff Blum followed with a homer to right, making it a 10-1 Astros lead.

The Cardinals got back in the contest in the next inning while facing Chad Paronto, who was almost wholly ineffective. Brendan Ryan led off with a double before Skip Schumaker walked. Ryan then went to third on a passed ball and scored on a sacrifice fly.

After Albert Pujols walked, Ludwick crushed a ball deep to left field for his 16th homer of the year. Wesley Wright replaced Paronto on the mound, but DeRosa homered to center to give St. Louis back-to-back shots, and bring the team within 10-6. However, Wright got the next two batters to end the inning.

Tejada plated a run in the bottom half with a sac fly, and Arias set the Cardinals down in order in the ninth to seal the victory.

DeRosa's homer in the second inning got St. Louis on the scoreboard, and snapped Rodriguez's streak at 18 1/3 scoreless innings.

Pence responded with a two-run homer to left in the bottom half for a 2-1 Houston lead. Tejada's RBI single in the third, Chris Coste's run-scoring double in the fourth and Tejada's RBI base hit in the fifth built the Astros' advantage to 5-1.

The Cardinals went back-to-back for the third time this season, while the Astros' hit homers in consecutive plate appearances for the second time this year...Rodriguez tied a career high for wins in a season. He also won 10 games in 2005, his rookie year...Lee's grand slam was his 296th career homer and 14th career slam. It was his second slam of 2009...The Astros announced that first baseman Lance Berkman is out with a Class 2 calf strain, and will miss the next 2-3 games before re-taking an MRI exam. However, the team said he will be available to pinch-hit. Coste got the start at first Tuesday...Matsui left the game in the eighth with a right knee contusion...Bourn had a bunt single Tuesday, giving him 10 this season. He also stole his NL-best 35th base.