=== St. Louis Cardinals Team Report - May 27 ===

(My Sportsbook) - They have the fewest home losses in the National League entering Tuesday's action and are threatening to make a run at first place in the Central Division as a result.

Yesterday, the St. Louis Cardinals posted a convincing 10-5 win over the Houston Astros at Busch Stadium in the opener of a four-game set against their division rivals.

J.D. Drew belted a three-run homer and Scott Rolen added three hits and three RBI leading the Cards to the victory. Albert Pujols scored three times and drove in two runs, while Tino Martinez homered for the Cardinals, who have won three of their last four games. Mike Matheny recorded three hits and scored twice for St. Louis.

Woody Williams (7-0) remained undefeated after 10 starts this season. Williams, who has won his last three outings, allowed just one run on six hits over six innings. The righthander struck out five and walked none.

Unfortunately for St. Louis, all the news was not good on Monday as the team placed second baseman Fernando Vina on the 15-day disabled list with a severely torn right hamstring, an injury that will likely sideline him for 6- to-12 weeks.

Vina, who had been coming alive in recent games with 10 hits in 25 at-bats, was batting .262 and had been caught stealing on four of his seven attempts, the only player on the roster to have been nailed more than once trying to take the extra base.

St. Louis will hand the ball to 30-year-old Brett Tomko this evening. Tomko struggled in his last start, giving up eight hits and five runs over 4 1/3 innings versus Houston in a loss. The veteran walked and struck out two in the losing effort. The defeat marked Tomko's first decision in his last four outings.

Tomko owns a career mark of 3-3 with a 5.32 ERA against the Astros. He has allowed 53 hits and 28 earned runs over 47 1/3 innings versus Houston in his career.

The Cards as a group are second in the NL in batting at .281 and have struck out a league-low 265 times. The pitching staff is fifth in the league with a 3.84 ERA and has a 2.99 mark at Busch through 22 contests.

The opener on Monday began a 13-game homestand for the Cardinals, which concludes with a couple a three-game series against the likes of Toronto and Baltimore from the American League in early June.