The parable of the prodigal son has to do with a guy who wastes his inheritance and then repents. Not every person who returns to a familiar place is a prodigal son, despite how often the term is used. Lance Berkman didn’t repent, for example. He got wrathful and started punishing baseballs. Berkman drove in four runs in one inning and hit a home run from both sides of the plate, as the St. Louis Cardinals won a hitters’ duel against the Houston Astros at Minute Maid Park on Thursday night, 11-7.
Cardinals Vs. Astros: Lance Berkman Greeted Warmly, Doesn’t Return The Favor
The Astros jumped ahead first, with Chris Johnson hitting a two-run homer in the second inning, and Hunter Pence adding an RBI single in the third to give Houston a 3-0 lead. The teams would exchange single runs to put the score at 4-1 entering the sixth, when things got out of hand for the Astros. The first six St. Louis hitters reached, with Matt Holliday fisting a ball to right field to drive in the first run of the inning, chasing starter Nelson Figueroa from the game.
Berkman greeted new pitcher Fernando Abad by pulling a ball into the Crawford Boxes in left field for a three-run home run to take the lead. After Berkman came back around to single home another run, the Cardinals had scored nine runs in the inning on ten hits off of four different Houston pitchers.
Though the Astros would chip away at the lead with a run in the bottom-half of the sixth and two runs in an eighth-inning rally that brought the score to 10-7. With the bases loaded and Bill Hall up, the threat ended with Pence getting thrown out at home, trying to score on a wild pitch.
In the ninth, Berkman sent a moon shot into the right-field stands,marking the third time in his career he’s homered as a left- and a right-handed hitter in the same game. Kyle McClellan improved to 4-0 on the season despite giving up five earned runs.
For more on the Cardinals and Astros, please visit team blogs Viva El Birdos and Crawfish Boxes
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