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ST. LOUIS (AP) — David Freese's three-run homer snapped the Cardinals' seven-game longball drought and St. Louis beat the Houston Astros 13-5 Thursday to complete a three-game sweep.

Freese and Matt Holliday each had four RBIs and Allen Craig had three hits and three RBIs. The Cardinals shrugged aside a 4-0, fourth-inning deficit and sent Houston to its seventh straight loss.

The Astros are 0-4 while getting outscored 32-8 since interim manager Tony DeFrancesco replaced Brad Mills as leader of the stripped-down roster. Houston has won just seven of its last 50 overall.

Ben Francisco had three hits for the Astros, who were swept for the third time this month and 12th overall.

Holliday's three-run double in the fifth inning was the go-ahead blow.

Jake Westbrook (13-9) won for the fourth time in five starts despite struggles with control two days after getting a new contract for next season with a mutual option for 2014.

Westbrook surrendered five runs on seven hits, two walks and two hit batters in five innings, ending a string of 13 consecutive starts of at least six innings.

Astros rookie lefty Dallas Keuchel (1-6) retired 11 of the first 12 batters, but six of his last seven reached base, one on an error. He earned his first career RBI on a sacrifice fly in the second, but was charged with five earned runs in four-plus innings.

The Cardinals totaled 17 hits and were 10 for 14 with runners in scoring position against five pitchers, one off their season best, to sweep the Astros for the first time since April 2009 and wrap up a 6-3 homestand with a string of contenders awaiting.

St. Louis starts a 10-game trip Friday night with three games at NL Central-leading Cincinnati, followed by three at wild card-contending Pittsburgh and four at NL East-leading Washington.

Like Westbrook, the 24-year-old Keuchel entered with decent recent numbers with three consecutive quality starts. He's 0-6 in nine starts since beating the Indians with a six-hitter on June 23.

Freese's 16th homer capped a two-out rally in the fourth. The Astros elected to pitch to Freese instead of Daniel Descalso, just 3 for 21 during the homestand to that point and batting .226.

The first five Cardinals reached safely to start the fifth, including an error. Holliday had been just 5 for 36 with two RBIs on the homestand, put St. Louis ahead 7-5 with his double.

NOTES: Craig has a 12-game hitting streak. He is batting .354 during his hitting streak with a homer, six doubles and six RBIs, raising his average to .313. ... Tyler Greene, traded from the Cardinals to Houston earlier this month, was 0 for 7 with five strikeouts in the series. Greene was a first-round pick in 2005 and became a fan target after numerous failures in St. Louis. ... ... Brett Wallace is 7 for 14 against Westbrook with four RBIs. ... Astros OF Justin Maxwell missed his second straight start with a bruised right index finger. ... Lance Lynn (13-5, 3.73 ERA) faces Mat Latos (10-3, 3.56) in the series opener against the Reds. ... The Astros open a three-game road series against the Mets, with Jordan Lyles (2-10, 5.70) set to start the opener against Jonathan Niese (10-6, 3.82).

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Ron Washington was in a grateful mood after his 500th win as manager of the Texas Rangers.

Josh Hamilton had five RBIs and Mitch Moreland doubled in the go-ahead run during a six-run eighth inning that carried Texas to a 10-6 victory over the Minnesota Twins on Thursday night.

"I think you have to give a lot of credit to the organization, the players, the coaches and everyone," said Washington, in his sixth season as a manager — all with the Rangers. "We got there fast. I didn't get there alone.

"I just hope I can be here and win 500 more."

Adrian Beltre had three hits, including his fourth homer in two days, and scored the tiebreaking run on Moreland's drive to left-center.

Minnesota starter Scott Diamond was ejected in the third by plate umpire Wally Bell after throwing a pitch behind Hamilton's head. Twins manager Ron Gardenhire also was tossed after immediately protesting Bell's decision.

"Anytime in an umpire's judgment they go in the head area, we have to take care of business. I felt at the time that he had to be ejected for it," Bell said.

Rangers starter Roy Oswalt had hit slugger Joe Mauer in the back in the preceding half-inning.

"I'm not going to get into that," Gardenhire said. "Everybody saw that, so I don't have to say anything about it.

"I've never seen it happen like that before."

A pair of Twins errors led to five unearned runs in the eighth as the AL West leaders sent 11 batters to the plate to break a 4-all tie. Geovany Soto, Ian Kinsler and Elvis Andrus also had RBIs in the inning.

Moreland entered in the sixth to replace designated hitter Michael Young, who left to witness the birth of his third son.

Beltre is hitting .529 with four home runs, two doubles and six RBIs in his last four games. He homered three times Wednesday night, twice in a nine-run fourth inning, and had five RBIs during a 12-3 victory over Baltimore.

Jared Burton (1-1) took the loss after giving up six runs on three hits and two walks in two-thirds of an inning.

Mike Adams (3-3) worked a scoreless eighth for the win. Joe Nathan entered in the ninth after Tanner Scheppers gave up two runs with two outs and converted his 22nd consecutive save opportunity and 25th of the season.

Minnesota left 14 runners on base.

Andrus' error on Denard Span's grounder to shortstop let in the first runs the Rangers' bullpen had given up in 18 innings.

Beltre hit a one-out double in the eighth and Nelson Cruz reached on third baseman Trevor Plouffe's error, setting the stage for Moreland's clutch hit.

David Murphy was intentionally walked to bring up Soto, who hit a grounder that shortstop Pedro Florimon bobbled for an error. Soto was credited with an RBI.

Kinsler drew a bases-loaded walk, Andrus knocked in a run with an infield single and Hamilton added a two-run single.

Oswalt started in place of Yu Darvish, skipped because of tightness in his right quadriceps. The right-hander gave up four runs and seven hits over 5 1-3 innings.

Diamond worked 2 1-3 innings, giving up two runs on three hits and two walks.

The Rangers took a 4-2 lead in the fifth on Beltre's 23rd home run and Hamilton's RBI single that scored Kinsler.

Oswalt was pulled after giving up successive hits to Matt Carson and Plouffe in the sixth.

Rangers reliever Michael Kirkman, who had retired 10 consecutive batters over his past three appearances, couldn't keep Oswalt's runners from scoring.

Carson came home on Florimon's groundout and Span tied it with a single.

Hamilton's double in the first scored Kinsler and Andrus to give Texas a 2-1 lead. The 2010 AL MVP is hitting .345 with 17 RBIs in the past 16 games.

"Down the stretch, he is our horse," Washington said. "So is Beltre, so is Moreland, so is Murphy. We've got a pretty good team."

NOTES: Span was back in the lineup after missing the previous nine games with a sore right shoulder sustained while diving for a ball in center field on Aug. 12 against Tampa Bay. ... Minnesota DH Josh Willingham was scratched because of a stiff neck. ... Washington said he doesn't expect catcher Mike Napoli back until Sept. 1. Napoli is on the disabled list with a strained left quadriceps.

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Even Josh Hamilton couldn't make up for the Texas Rangers' sloppy play on Sunday.

Hamilton hit his 35th homer and drove in four runs, but the Rangers made a couple of costly fielding blunders in a 6-5 loss to the Minnesota Twins.

"The frustrating thing was that we didn't play as sharply today," Texas outfielder David Murphy said. "If we did, it would have been a different outcome."

Ben Revere had four hits as Minnesota stopped a five-game slide. Cole De Vries pitched five effective innings to win for the first time in nearly two months.

Texas' defensive struggles helped the Twins grab a 3-2 lead in the third.

Revere opened the inning with an infield single and advanced to second when first baseman Mitch Moreland threw the ball away.

Scott Feldman fielded Joe Mauer's grounder and had Revere in a rundown between second and third. The Rangers, however, couldn't execute the play as third baseman Adrian Beltre dropped the ball, allowing Revere to reach third.

"We messed up the play there," Rangers manager Ron Washington said.

Despite those miscues, the Rangers still had a chance to keep the Twins off the board in the inning.

Hamilton caught Justin Morneau's shallow pop in left. He dropped the ball transferring it from his glove to his hand, and Revere scored on what was ruled a sacrifice fly.

"That was a run that probably wouldn't have been on the board," Washington said.

Texas' woes in the field overshadowed another huge game from Hamilton.

He hit a two-run single in the first, then belted a two-run homer in the sixth that trimmed Minnesota's lead to 6-4. The big game ran his total to 111 RBIs, the most in the majors.

"He's been barreling up the ball when they make a mistake," Washington said.

De Vries (3-5) was 0-4 in 10 starts since beating Kansas City on June 30. The rookie allowed two runs and three singles.

"I'm happy to have a performance like that against a powerful offense," De Vries said.

The Twins avoided getting swept in the four-game series. They finished a 10-game road trip with a 2-8 record.

Revere lined an RBI triple in the sixth that gave the Twins a 6-2 lead. The speedy right fielder reached base five times and scored three runs.

Glen Perkins worked a perfect ninth for his seventh save in 10 chances.

"It was a nice win after a long road trip," Minnesota manager Ron Gardenhire said.

Feldman (6-10) lost his fourth straight start. He gave up six runs and 10 hits in 5 2-3 innings.

"I made good pitches," Feldman said. "That's the frustrating thing about it."

Texas jumped on De Vries after a rain delay of 1 hour, 26 minutes.

The AL West leaders got three straight singles after play resumed, capped by Hamilton's hit that put Texas on top 2-1.

De Vries retired 15 of his next 16 batters. The only hitter to reach was Geovany Soto, who struck out but got to first on a passed ball.

Two batters after Hamilton's 35th home run, Nelson Cruz added a solo shot to cut Minnesota's lead to 6-5.

Texas center fielder Craig Gentry took a home run away from Mauer in the ninth. Gentry went back to the nearly 9-foot wall, jumped up and snared the drive before it cleared the fence.

"The catch was huge," Washington said. "We were still one swing away from tying the ballgame."

NOTES: Twins LHP Scott Diamond said he is ready to make his scheduled start Tuesday as he awaits word on his appeal of a six-game suspension for a pitch thrown near the Hamilton's head. Diamond said the appeal was filed late Friday afternoon and was uncertain whether the league would address it by Monday. "I don't know when I will hear," Diamond said. "It might take them a day or two." ... The Rays announced that RHP Alex Cobb will start against the Rangers on Wednesday. ... Gentry ran into 2B Ian Kinsler making a catch to end the fifth. Gentry was down for a couple of minutes, but walked off on his own and remained in the game.

NEW YORK (AP) — Astros interim manager Tony DeFrancesco wasn't sure at first if Marwin Gonzalez was safe or out at home plate in the ninth inning. In that tangle, it was hard to tell.

So he burst out of the dugout to protect his player, and at least take a shot at persuading home plate umpire Dave Rackley to rule the go-ahead run had scored.

No such luck. Gonzalez was ejected before he could get to the plate, and the call stood.

Ike Davis then hit his second homer of the day with one out in the bottom of the ninth, lifting the New York Mets to their first series win at home since early July with a 2-1 victory over Houston on Sunday.

"It was a bang-bang play. The umpire got it right, but I thought it could have went either way," said DeFrancesco, a former catcher. "It was a heck of a play by the catcher squashing him off the plate."

Rookies Jeremy Hefner and Lucas Harrell engaged in a crisp duel for seven innings. Hefner took a shutout into the ninth before giving up a tying double to Gonzalez.

Gonzalez then tried to score on Ben Francisco's single off Bobby Parnell (3-3) and Lucas Duda, recalled from Triple-A Buffalo on Sunday, made a strong throw home.

Catcher Kelly Shoppach took Duda's slightly high throw and stuck his left leg out to block the plate. Gonzalez tried to slide around him and reach back for the plate, but Shoppach used his body to prevent Gonzalez from slipping in a hand. Gonzalez jumped up and slammed his helmet down after being called out. He was tossed by Rackley.

"It was a great throw by Duda, giving us a chance to keep it tied," Shoppach said of Duda, who is often criticized as being a sub-par outfielder.

Davis' drive off Wilton Lopez (5-2) just cleared the top of the right-field wall — and the glove of a leaping Francisco — for the second game-ending drive of his career — a homer under the new Citi Field dimensions. He took a leaping 360-degree spin into his awaiting teammates at the plate.

"I thought I hit it a little better than I did. Outfielder kind of deked me a little bit," Davis said. "Thought I'd look like a fool because I didn't run out of the box. ... First one I got pretty good."

Davis connected off Harrell, his former teammate on the U.S. national team, leading off the fourth, launching a shot about halfway up the second deck in right to help the Mets snap a skid of six straight series losses at Citi Field. Since taking two of three from Philadelphia July 3-5, New York has gone 5-16 at home.

Batting .199 on July 4, Davis has lifted his average to .223 and he has 24 homers this season.

"It was a pitch down and in," Harrell said. "I tried to get it in but not down."

The Mets took two of three in the final series at Citi Field with Houston being a National League team. The Astros join the AL West next season.

The Astros have won just eight of their last 53 games.

At Buffalo, Duda worked on playing in left field after starting 80 games in the right for New York. Often looking lost in the field before he was sent down on July 24 because he was slumping at the plate, Duda couldn't come up with a difficult catch in the ninth that allowed Houston to tie it 1-all, spoiling Hefner's fine outing.

"I thought he looked great out there. He looks comfortable," manager Terry Collins said. "As far as that ball goes, he ran a long way for that ball. And any time you dive toward that wall, there's issues. I thought he did fine. Of course, he made a great throw, too."

Pinch-hitter Jose Altuve led off the ninth with a single and Collins chose to leave Hefner in. Gonzalez then hit a low liner down the left-field line. Duda made the long run and the ball hit of his glove as he tried to make the catch and avoid hitting the wall.

Altuve scored and Gonzalez landed on second base chasing Hefner.

Harrell came in the leader in innings pitched for rookies and had won 25 percent of the Astros' 40 games. He was second to Wade Miley in wins for rookies in the NL and led the league with 151 1-3 innings pitched.

He showed how good he was Sunday, giving up two hits and a run with four of his seven strikeouts coming with the batter caught looking.

"I felt like I was working quick and in the zone all day," Harrell said.

NOTES: RHP Armando Galarraga has chosen to become a free agent rather than accepting an assignment to the minors after being designated for assignment by the Astros last week. ... Astros OF Justin Maxwell missed his fifth consecutive start with a bruised right index finger. He will see a doctor Monday and could be headed to the disabled list.

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Adrian Beltre extended his hot seven-game streak into another week.

Beltre was 3 for 3 with a home run and four RBIs, including driving in the go-ahead run in the bottom of the fifth inning, to lead the Texas Rangers to a 6-5 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays on Monday night.

Elvis Andrus scored on Beltre's single to give the AL West leaders a series-opening win. Nelson Cruz also homered and Mike Olt added an RBI for Texas.

Derek Holland (9-6) got the win, giving up five runs — three earned — on six hits in six innings. He struck out five and walked one.

Beltre, who was selected AL player of the week after a three-homer game and another in which he hit for the cycle, is hitting .385 with six homers and 13 RBIs in his last eight games.

"He's locked in," Rangers manager Ron Washington said. "We need everything he's giving us right now. He's one of the guys in our lineup that makes it work."

Relievers Alexi Ogando and Mike Adams, and closer Joe Nathan struck out six of the nine hitters they faced in working perfect seventh, eighth and ninth innings. Nathan earned his 23rd consecutive save opportunity and 26th this season.

Tampa Bay ace David Price (16-5) snapped a stretch of 12 consecutive quality starts in which he had pitched at least seven innings. The lefty, who entered with a majors-low 2.28 ERA and tied for the league lead for victories, didn't make it to the fifth, giving up six runs on 10 hits in four innings.

In eight career regular-season starts against the Rangers, Price is 1-3 with a 6.04 ERA. In four starts at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington, his ERA is 10.26.

"I didn't feel like I was throwing the ball any different than I was during the stretch where I've been successful," Price said. "It's Texas, they're a good-hitting team, and they're feeling it right now."

The Rangers continually jumped on first-pitch fastballs.

"We were trying to look for a pitch we could handle," said Beltre, noting that Price likes to get ahead of hitters. "He comes after hitters, so we were ready."

The Rays entered with the AL's best road record (35-27), but found they were no match for Beltre.

Beltre, who reached base a fourth time with a walk in the seventh, and Cruz had back-to-back home runs in the bottom of the second to erase a 2-0 deficit — the first time Price has allowed consecutive homers in his career.

Olt's groundout to shortstop Ben Zobrist drove in the Rangers' third run.

Beltre's double with no outs in the third scored Elvis Andrus and Josh Hamilton to make the score 5-3. Price was able to limit the damage by retiring the next three hitters on two groundouts and a strikeout of Geovany Soto.

Over his last 65 games, Beltre is hitting .332 with 15 homers, 14 doubles and 44 RBIs.

"I don't know," Beltre said when asked if he's ever had a streak like the past eight games. "Probably. I don't keep track. Right now, I feel good. I feel comfortable, and have confidence offensively."

B.J. Upton's run-scoring triple and Zobrist's RBI single tied the score at 5-all in the fifth.

An error led to two unearned runs for the Rays in the first inning.

Upton reached base on a fielding miscue by Andrus at short, who then dropped a potential double play relay on the next hitter, Ben Zobrist, who reached on a fielder's choice.

Evan Longoria, who was 2 for 4, then took a 3-2 pitch deep off the left-field foul pole for a home run.

"We screwed up the first inning," Washington said, "but the offenses wouldn't stop."

The Rays' Nos. 5-9 hitters went 0 for 18 with eight strikeouts.

Notes: With the home run and a single, Longoria is hitting .435 (10 for 23) lifetime against Rangers starter Holland. ... Beltre has had 25 or more home runs in seven seasons. ... Price led the major leagues in ERA and tied for most wins entering Monday's game. In the last 50 years, only eight pitchers Sandy Koufax (1963, '65-66), Jim Palmer (1975), Ron Guidry (1978), Dwight Gooden (1985), Bret Saberhagen (1989), Greg Maddux (1995), Pedro Martinez (1999) and Johan Santana (2006) have finished the season leading the majors in both categories — and all have won the Cy Young.

HOUSTON (AP) — The Houston Astros have dropped their last three games by a total of four runs. That doesn't make the mounting losses any easier to take, though.

Their latest close defeat came Tuesday night when pinch-hitter Hector Sanchez delivered a go-ahead single in the ninth inning and the San Francisco Giants rallied for a 3-2 victory.

"Eventually, it is going to turn," Astros interim manager Tony DeFrancesco said. "We have a lot of confidence in the guys in there. The effort is there. I am watching guys go hard every day. It's sort of frustrating to the manager and coaching staff not to get the 'W.'"

The Giants were down 2-1 entering the ninth. Brandon Belt singled off Wesley Wright to start inning before pinch-hitter Joaquin Arias doubled down the left-field line off Wilton Lopez (5-3) to tie it at 2.

Sanchez completed the rally with his one-out liner to center that scored Arias.

"It's definitely tough, but they are a good team," Houston's Brett Wallace said. "We played with them tonight."

Houston took the lead on a wild pitch by Matt Cain in the eighth inning. The game was tied 1-all when Jimmy Paredes, in his first game since being recalled from Triple-A Oklahoma City, drew a walk. Wallace singled before a sacrifice bunt by Jason Castro left runners at second and third.

Then came the wild pitch in the dirt that bounced between the legs of catcher Buster Posey and off the backstop. Posey went to get the ball and Paredes trotted home ahead of the throw and over a diving Cain to put Houston up 2-1.

Santiago Casilla (5-5) retired the last two batters in the eighth for the win and Sergio Romo threw a perfect ninth for his seventh save.

Angel Pagan put San Francisco up 1-0 when he connected on a home run to right field with two outs in the fifth. Houston evened it up when Fernando Martinez opened the bottom half with a homer to right-center.

The loss dropped DeFrancesco to 1-7 and came in front of 13,516 fans — the smallest crowd in the history of Houston's 12-year-old ballpark. DeFrancesco took over on Aug. 19 after Brad Mills became the first manager in the majors to be fired this season.

Houston starter Bud Norris was lifted in the seventh with a blister on his right middle finger. He retired the first two batters in the inning before falling behind 2-0 to Pagan.

Trainers checked out Norris and chatted with him before he was replaced by Fernando Rodriguez.

"It is kind of aggravating him a little bit, so he is having a tough time commanding his slider," DeFrancesco said. "Going into the sixth inning and the seventh, it is more painful. ... He can handle it, but when the pain starts beating on him and throbbing, then it's time to come out of the game."

Norris is mired in a career-worst 10-game losing streak and hasn't won since May 21. He allowed six hits and a run with seven strikeouts.

"I just tried to go out there and help my team stay as close as we can and try to win a game," Norris said. "We were ahead late and unfortunately it fell apart."

Cain, who pitched a perfect game against Houston on June 13, allowed six hits and two runs with three walks in 7 1-3 innings.

"I felt good," he said. "I felt like I was able to throw a lot of pitches for strikes anytime I kind of wanted to."

Cain didn't give up a hit until Wallace doubled with one out in the fourth. Pagan fielded it near the wall in center and threw to cutoff man Brandon Crawford, who caught the throw right before Gregor Blanco came dashing in from left field and crashed into him.

The collision sent both players tumbling to the ground, but neither was injured.

Cain was helped by his defense in the first when Castro hit a pop fly into foul territory. Third baseman Pablo Sandoval attempted to make the catch, but the ball bounced out of his glove and into the air. Crawford then made a diving grab before the ball hit the ground.

NOTES: Houston CF Jordan Schafer, on the disabled list with an injured left shoulder, went 0 for 3 and scored a run for Oklahoma City in the third game of his rehab assignment. ... The teams continue the series Wednesday when San Francisco left-hander Barry Zito opposes Dallas Keuchel.