In the past week-plus, the Cardinals have handed losses to four big-name pitchers.
Tuesday's foe, Astros right-hander Hunter Brown may not be a household name, but the former top prospect's play is putting him on a trajectory to ascend into the highest tier of starting pitchers.
After a blowout win in Monday's opener, the Cardinals continue their three-game home set vs. Houston on Tuesday at 6:45 p.m.
Brown (1-1, 2.00), a 26-year-old entering his third full big-league season, finished 2024 with a 2.32 ERA in his last 13 starts, helping Houston and leading to lofty predictions for this season.
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"He has looked like a big-league, top-end-of-the-rotation ace," former teammate Alex Bregman . "His ceiling is a Cy Young-type arm."
Astros manager Joe Espada, a likely "ace in [Houston's] rotation for years to come."
So far, he's lived up to the hype and is among for the American League Cy Young Award.
He leads with one of baseball's best four-seamers, and all but one of his six pitches rate as average or better. He limits hard contact and keeps opponents on the ground.
Since Brown's second-half surge, right-handers have been more effective than lefties against him.
For the Cardinals, right-hander Erick Fedde (1-1, 4.20) takes the hill. In two of his three starts, he went six innings and allowed zero and one run, respectively.
The other start, sandwiched between those two, was a rough outing in Boston (three innings, six earned runs).
The Cardinals are 8-8 overall and 7-3 at home. The Astros are 7-9.
Jackie Robinson Day
Tuesday is Major League Baseball's annual Jackie Robinson Day, when teams commemorate the man who broke baseball's color barrier.
Players, managers and coaches will wear Robinson's No. 42 with all teams using Dodger Blue uniform numbers.
ÁñÁ«ÊÓƵ will also wear caps with "42" on the side. During batting practice, "Breaking Barriers" T-Shirts will be worn.
Lineups
CARDINALS
1. Lars Nootbaar, LF
2. Willson Contreras, 1B
3. Brendan Donovan, SS
4. Nolan Arenado, 3B
5. Alec Burleson, DH
6. Jordan Walker, RF
7. Nolan Gorman, 2B
8. Pedro Pagés, C
9. Michael Siani, CF
P: Erick Fedde, RHP
ASTROS
1. Jose Altuve, LF
2. Isaac Paredes, 3B
3. Yordan Alvarez, DH
4. Christian Walker, 1B
5. Jeremy Peña, SS
6. Yainer Diaz, C
7. Jake Meyers, CF
8. Cam Smith, RF
9. Mauricio Dubón, 2B
P: Hunter Brown, RHP
Injury report
Masyn Winn, SS (back spasms):Â Played catch with teammate Ivan Herrera on Tuesday as he began light baseball activities, his first on the field actions since lower back spasms ejected him from a game earlier in the home stand. Placed on the 10-day injured list due to lower back spasms experienced April 11. Updated April 15
Ivan Herrera, C (bone bruise): Began light baseball activities Tuesday by playing catch with teammate Winn. Herrera has been able to work out in the weight room and is making strides toward more intense drills and hitting. He was given time to rest to avoid making the injury worse, and there will be an element of tolerance as he increases his activity. Updated April 15
Zack Thompson, LHP (lat strain): Remained in Jupiter, Florida, to begin a throwing program after a month of limited activity and no throwing. Thompson went through multiple checkups and scans to monitor the healing of a tear in his lat on the left side, and they did not show any setback to delayed Thompson's scheduled move to the injured list. On April 7, Thompson was transferred to the 60-day IL. Updated April 7
