O’Neill, Yadi homer in Cardinals’ 4-3 victory over Astros

Adam Wainwright shined and the St. Louis Cardinals rode a pair of two-run homers to a 4-3 victory over the Houston Astros on Friday night.

The Cardinals narrowly won their third game of the spring as the bullpen struggled to hold the Astros in check at Roger Dean Stadium.

Adam Wainwright continued his strong spring campaign. The veteran held the Astros scoreless over four innings of work. He allowed just one hit, an Altuve double in the first inning, and walked one while striking out three.

In nine innings of work this spring, Wainwright has allowed just one run and two hits.

Tyler O’Neill broke the scoreless game in the fourth inning on an opposite-field, two-run shot. It was O’Neill’s second homer of the spring.

Tyler Webb and Ryan Helsley came on to pitch the fifth and sixth innings respectively. Each allowed a solo home run and the Astros tied the game at 2-2.

In the bottom half of the sixth, O’Neill reached on a sharp single and Yadier Molina promptly untied the game with a two-run homer. Yadi’s first homer of the spring carried 407 feet and was 107 mph off the bat.

After the Astros pushed another run across the board off Andrew Miller in the seventh, Giovanny Gallegos came into pitch the eighth in the 4-3 ballgame. The former closer ran into immediate trouble, allowing the Astros to fill the bases with nobody out. Gallegos battled back, striking out the next man, and then induced a ground ball for an inning-ending double play.

Kodi Whitley pitched a perfect ninth inning to seal the Cardinals’ victory and improve their spring training record to 3-4-3.

Molina and O’Neill both recorded multi-hit games and their homers were the only extra-base hits from the Cardinals’ offense.

Next up, the Cardinals take on the Miami Marlins on Saturday at 5:05 pm at Roger Dean Stadium.