The long balls came early and often for the Astros, as they bit St. Louis Cardinals pitchers for three round-trippers on the afternoon.
Astros starter Wandy Rodriguez worked around a one-out single and stolen base from Stephen Piscotty by striking out the side in the top of the first. Then in the bottom half, the Astro bats jumped on St. Louis starter Jaime Garcia.
With one out in the bottom of the first, Houston DH Marwin Gonzalez jumped on a 2-2 fastball, depositing his first homer of the spring over the left field wall for a 1-0 lead.