Astros-Cardinals: Rookie Pitcher Cancels Holliday and Shuts Down Redbirds

The St. Louis Cardinals (58-50) should have beaten the Houston Astros (52-53) easily this afternoon at Busch Stadium. However, in what has to be one of the most impressive debuts by a rookie starting pitcher in the modern baseball era, Bud Norris completely shut down the mighty offense of the Cardinals. Thanks to his efforts, Houston avoided a sweep by putting together a 2-0 shut out of the Redbirds. Starting his first Major League game, Norris, who was a last minute substitution for Roy Oswalt, pitched seven innings, and allowed only two hits. He did walk four Redbird batters, but he struck out five, and effectively swept the legs out from under the Cardinals. It was a brilliant pitching performance by a 24-year-old, starting pitcher that has somehow flown completely under the radar. The starter for the Cards, Adam Wainwright, also threw a good game, but got the loss, since Norris made run support close to impossible. Still, Wainwright threw seven innings, allowing two runs, e...