JUPITER, Fla. — The Houston Astros carried a late lead into the ninth inning Friday night but couldn’t hold it, as Colton Ledbetter delivered a two-run walk-off single to give the St. Louis Cardinals a 5–4 Grapefruit League win at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium.
Houston jumped in front early behind a power swing from Christian Walker. The Astros first baseman launched a solo home run in the second inning, his first of the spring, to give Houston a 1–0 lead.
The Astros offense broke through again in the fourth. After Joey Loperfido and Walker reached base, Taylor Trammell ripped a two-run single to right field that scored both runners and pushed Houston ahead 3–1. Cam Smith later came home on a groundout by Nick Allen, stretching the Astros’ lead to 4–1.
St. Louis chipped away in the bottom half of the inning. Blaze Jordan and Ramón Mendoza each hit solo home runs to cut the Astros’ advantage to 4–3.
From there, the game settled into a bullpen battle. Bryan Abreu and J.P. France helped keep Houston in front through the middle innings while the Astros’ offense stalled after the fourth.
The Cardinals finally broke through in the ninth. Andrew Sojka worked a walk and Dakota Harris reached on an error to put two runners aboard before a sacrifice bunt moved both into scoring position. With two outs, Ledbetter lined a single to center field that brought home both runners and ended the game.
Houston finished with several offensive highlights despite the loss. Walker’s homer opened the scoring, Trammell drove in two runs with his fourth-inning single, and Loperfido added a hit and a walk.
Kai-Wei Teng started for Houston and worked into the fourth inning before turning the game over to the bullpen.
The Astros continue Grapefruit League play Saturday as spring training action rolls on in Florida.