The St. Louis Cardinals won their first game of the 2007 major league baseball season Friday, beating National League rival Houston, 4-2.
Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright allowed five hits and struck out four Astros in his first career start. He also drove in a run with a double, and scored on teammate Chris Duncan's two-run home run in the third inning.
The New York Mets enjoyed an 11-1 rout of the Atlanta Braves. Jose Reyes hit two triples and drove in four runs for the Mets, while teammate Oliver Perez struck out six batters over seven strong innings.
Elsewhere in the National League, the Arizona Diamondbacks trounced the Washington Nationals 7-1. The Chicago Cubs scored six runs in the first inning on their way to a 9-3 win over the Milwaukee Brewers. The Philadelphia Phillies beat the Florida Marlins 8-2 for their first win of the season. Forty-year-old Jeff Connie hit a three-run homer to lead the Cincinnati Reds to a 6-1 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Colorado Rockies defeated the San Diego Padres 4-3, and the Los Angeles Dodgers downed the San Francisco Giants 2-1.
In the American League, Sammy Sosa hit an RBI single in the first inning to help the Texas Rangers beat the Boston Red Sox 2-0. The Baltimore Orioles edged their A.L. East rival New York Yankees 6-4. The Kansas City Royals downed the Detroit Tigers 3-1. The Tampa Bay Devil Rays defeated the Toronto Blue Jays 6-5. Vladimir Guerrero and Howie Kendrick homered to help the Los Angeles Angels beat the Oakland Athletics 5-2.
Games in Chicago and Cleveland was postponed by snow and cold weather.
Some information for this report provided by AP.
