Baseball: St. Louis 6 Houston 1

A two-run homer by Peter Kozma and a solid start by Lance Lynn carried the St. Louis Cardinals past the Houston Astros 6-1 Monday. Lynn (17-7) allowed just one hit over seven innings and struck out nine in the Cardinals' third consecutive win. St. Louis maintained a lead of 3 1/2 games over the Dodgers and Brewers in the sprint for the second NL wild card berth. Yadier Molina added a solo homer to the nine-hit St. Louis attack. Matt Holliday also had two RBI on a seventh-inning single. Scott Moore drove in Houston's only run with a single in the second inning that cut the Cardinals' lead to 3-1. Fernando Abad (0-6) remained winless for the Astros after giving up one run on a walk and two strikeouts in 1 2/3 innings. Abad departed the game in the second inning with a strained right oblique muscle.