Astros delay Cardinals' bid to clinch NL Central

By foxsports
Published

Bud Norris and the Houston Astros made sure the St. Louis Cardinals didn't celebrate a division championship at Minute Maid Park.

The 24-year-old rookie shut out the Cardinals for the second time and St. Louis missed a chance to capture the NL Central in a 3-0 loss to the Astros on Wednesday night.

The magic number for St. Louis dropped to one when the Cubs lost in Milwaukee before this game ended. But Norris (6-3) pitched six shutout innings and Jose Valverde tossed a scoreless ninth for his 24th save.