FOXNews.com: Maxwell helps Astros down Cardinals

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Maxwell helps Astros down Cardinals Jun 6th 2012, 03:46 Houston, TX –  Justin Maxwell hit a two-run home run to help the Houston Astros survive for a 9-8 win over the St. Louis Cardinals in the opener of a three-game set. Brian Bogusevic hit a solo home run while Jose Altuve went 4-for-5 with three runs scored for the Astros, who have won two straight following an eight-game losing streak. Lucas Harrell (5-4) got the win as he gave up four runs -- three earned -- on eight hits over six innings. Matt Adams hit a three-run home run, Rafael Furcal added a two-run shot and Adron Chambers hit a two-run triple for the Cardinals, who have dropped six of seven. Jaime Garcia (3-4) lasted just two innings as he was tagged for six runs on five hits with two walks. Carrying a five-run lead to start the ninth, it wasn't easy for the Astros to close out the game. David Carpenter started on the mound and promptly gave up a single to Matt Adams. Following a Steven Hill strikeout, Tony Cruz singled and Chambers brought both runners home with a triple. Brett Myers then took the hill and Furcal greeted him with a shot off the right field foul pole to make it a one-run game. He then got Carlos Beltran to pop out, but walked Matt Holliday to put the go-ahead run at the plate. Allen Craig, though, grounded out and Myers picked up his 14th save of the season. Holliday's run-scoring groundout staked the Cardinals to a 1-0 lead in the first inning, but the Astros answered in the bottom of the frame. Altuve led off with a double, but the next two batters recorded outs. J.D. Martinez, though, kept the inning alive with a single to plate Altuve and the next two batters walked to load the bases. A wild pitch then scored Martinez and Chris Snyder followed with a two-run single for a 4-1 lead. Maxwell's two-run homer in the second gave Houston a 6-1 advantage. The Cardinals cut their deficit to two in the third off of Adam's two-out, three-run homer to center, but the Astros got one back in the fourth on Bogusevic's leadoff blast to right. Houston plated another run in the sixth as Altuve hit a two-out double and scored when Jed Lowrie's bunt back to the mound saw Sam Freeman throw the ball away to first for an 8-4 advantage. Back-to-back doubles from Chris Johnson and Brett Wallace in the seventh made it a 9-4 contest. Game Notes Houston has taken three of four from the Cardinals this season...Garcia had skipped his last start due to elbow discomfort. He fell to 0-5 in seven starts against the Astros...Adam Wainwright pitches for St. Louis on Wednesday while Bud Norris will take the mound for Houston.

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