Punto, Craig: Power supply
(c) Associated Press
|
Wednesday is the final day of the regular season and fans of four teams will be glued to their radios, tv's and laptops to see who fills the final two playoff spots. Many of those eyes will be on Houston as the St. Louis Cardinals try to complete a miracle finish similar to one the Astros made in 2004.
The Astros can only play spoilers as they lost for the 105th time in 2012 on Tuesday, a 13-6 thumping by the Redbirds which pulled St. Louis into a tie with Atlanta for the National League Wild Card spot.
Henry Sosa was given a five-run lead as his teammates pounded Jake Westbrook early but Sosa gave them all back in the fourth and the Cardinals then poured it on against Houston's leaky bullpen. Lance Berkman continued his dominance over his former team with three hits, scoring all three times. Nick Punto had four hits while Allen Craig drove in four.
Jose Altuve had three hits while Jimmy Paredes and Brett Wallace combined to plate four of Houston's six runs.
Brett Myers (7-13) will pitch on short rest for the Astros while former ace Chris Carpenter (10-9) gets the start for St. Louis in a duel with playoff implications. The first pitch will be at 7:05 Central.
|