Peter Lambert’s long-awaited Houston Astros debut had its moments, but not enough of them. The St. Louis Cardinals knocked around the right-hander for four runs over five innings Friday night at Daikin Park, then pulled away against a beleaguered bullpen for a 9-4 victory.
Lambert, making his first major league start since 2019, ran into trouble early. JJ Wetherholt singled to lead off the game, Alec Burleson followed with another single, and Jordan Walker drove Wetherholt home with a sharp line drive to center. Lambert escaped further damage, retiring Nolan Gorman and Masyn Winn to end the inning.
The third inning was Lambert’s undoing. He hit Wetherholt and Iván Herrera with consecutive pitches and walked Burleson to load the bases with no outs. Lambert then buckled down to strike out Jordan Walker and Gorman, but Winn delivered a two-run single to make it 3-0. Lambert steadied after that, retiring all three batters in the fifth on strikeouts. He finished with eight strikeouts, a promising sign buried in an otherwise difficult evening.
The Astros chipped away. Christian Vázquez homered in the third to make it 3-1, and Yordan Alvarez followed with a solo shot—his eighth of the season—to cut the deficit to 3-2. Jose Altuve’s solo home run in the fifth brought Houston within one at 4-3, keeping the game within reach heading into the sixth.
It did not stay that way. In the sixth, Steven Okert allowed a Burleson double and a Jordan Walker walk before Gorman crushed a three-run homer to right to push the Cardinals’ lead to 7-3. In the seventh, Bryan Abreu allowed a two-run home run to Herrera, making it 9-3. Abreu has now allowed three earned runs in his last inning of work, with his ERA ballooning to 14.73 on the season.
Loperfido was removed in the seventh after his right quad tightened up running to first base on a groundout, replaced in left field by Brice Matthews. He will be evaluated.
Carlos Correa doubled in the eighth and scored on a Taylor Trammell single to account for Houston’s final run.
The loss drops the Astros to 8-13. J.P. France threw two innings of relief, allowing two runs, while Okert and Abreu combined to give up five. The Cardinals’ bullpen was dominant after Kyle Leahy’s five-inning start, with Justin Bruihl, JoJo Romero, Ryne Stanek, and George Soriano combining to allow just one run over four innings.
Lambert takes the loss but showed enough to remain in the rotation conversation. The bullpen, particularly Abreu, remains the most pressing concern. Isaac Paredes, who entered the game as a pinch-hitter in the fifth, did not finish the game after his legs tightened up chasing a foul ball.
The Astros send Lance McCullers Jr. to the mound Saturday night as Houston looks to even the series against St. Louis.
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