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Both Astros and Cardinals in need of a spark

Jun 3, 2007 - 12:40 PM h Astros and Cardinals in need of a spark* ==============================================

St Louis (23-30) at Houston (23-32), 2:05 pm EDT

HOUSTON (Ticker) -- A pair of teams looking to rebound from disappointing starts meet Sunday when the St. Louis Cardinals visit the Houston Astros in the finale of a three-game series.

St. Louis, the defending World Series champions, has not been above .500 this season since starting 6-5. Houston meanwhile is trying to forget about their 10-game losing skid which came to an end on Thursday.

Cardinals starter Braden Looper (6-4, 3.65 ERA) has pitched well this season, but when he has pitched bad, he has pitched very bad. That was the case in his last start on Tuesday when he allowed six run in 5 2/3 innings during the team's 8-3 loss to the Colorado Rockies. Looper won his only start against Houston on May 6, holding the team to one run in six innings as the Cardinals prevailed, 3-1.

Jason Jennings (0-1, 2.12) makes his second start for the Astros since returning from the disabled list with elbow tendinitis. He pitched five scoreless innings in the Astros' 2-1 loss to the Cincinnati Reds on Tuesday and did not factor in the decision.

Carlos Lee hit a two-run homer and Adam Everett and Luke Scott each added solo shots in Houston's 8-3 win here on Saturday. Hunter Pence had two hits and is hitting .421 (16-of-38) in his last 10 games with eight multi-hit contests.

Lance Berkman has 782 RBI and needs one more to pass Bob Watson for fourth place on Houston's all-time list.

Since May 27, Cardinals outfielder Jim Edmonds is hitting .323 (10-for-31) with five home runs and eight RBI.