Cole, Correa help Astros snap Cards' streak
Gerrit Cole completed his second consecutive unbeaten month, and Carlos Correa recorded five RBIs in his second game back from a 50-game injury absence, as the visiting Houston Astros beat the St. Louis Cardinals 8-2 on Saturday.
Cole (12-5) allowed one run, four hits and three walks while recording seven strikeouts over seven innings. After earning American League Pitcher of the Month honors in June -- when he finished 3-0 with a 1.89 ERA over six starts -- Cole completed July 4-0 with a 1.85 ERA over five starts.
Cole is 8-0 with a 1.96 ERA over his last 12 starts, with his last loss coming on May 22 to the White Sox.
The lone run recorded against Cole came in the fourth, when Cardinals first baseman Paul Goldschmidt homered for the sixth consecutive game, matching the franchise record set by Mark McGwire in 1997. McGwire matched his mark the following season, and Matt Carpenter did the same last season. For Goldschmidt, the 421-foot blast to center field was his 24th this season.
Houston held a comfortable six-run lead when Goldschmidt went deep.
The Astros scratched across two runs in the first inning and then chased Cardinals right-hander Daniel Ponce de Leon (1-1) with three consecutive one-out walks in the third. Correa, who had an RBI single in the top of the first to extend the Houston lead to 2-0, greeted Cardinals reliever Michael Wacha with a grand slam the opposite way to right for a 6-0 advantage.
The homer, his 12th this season and first career grand slam, came a night after Correa struck out with the bases loaded and two outs, failing to extend a 3-2 lead, a half-inning before Goldschmidt smacked a game-winning three-run homer.
Correa was in his second game since missing 50 games with a fractured rib.
The Astros extended their club record with their 10th grand slam of 2019.
George Springer added a two-run triple in the eighth inning for the Astros, who have won 8 of 10 games. The Cardinals had their six-game winning streak snapped.
--Field Level Media
