Cardinals rally past Astros 9-4 in Feb. 26 split-squad spring training matchup in Jupiter

Game overview

The St. Louis Cardinals defeated the Houston Astros 9-4 on Thursday, Feb. 26, 2026, in a Grapefruit League game at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium in Jupiter, Florida. The contest was part of a split-squad date for Houston during the early portion of spring training.

St. Louis built its margin in the middle innings and added late insurance, turning a one-run deficit into a five-run lead by the seventh before closing with a solo home run in the eighth.

How the scoring unfolded

Houston opened the scoring in the third inning when Brice Matthews doubled to left to drive in Walker Janek. The Cardinals answered in the fourth on a solo home run by catcher Yohel Pozo, tying the game 1-1.

The Astros moved back in front in the fifth on a Riley Unroe RBI single that scored Janek, making it 2-1. St. Louis responded immediately with its biggest swing of the day: Alec Burleson hit a three-run home run in the bottom of the fifth to put the Cardinals ahead 4-2.

Houston narrowed the gap in the sixth on a groundout by Collin Price that brought home Joseph Sullivan. In the seventh, the Astros pulled even at 4-4 on another run-producing groundout by Unroe that scored Janek.

St. Louis then broke the tie with a four-run bottom of the seventh, highlighted by RBI singles from Ryan Weingartner and Jack Gurevitch and a two-run homer by Jimmy Crooks. The Cardinals added a solo home run from Jon Jon Gazdar in the eighth to reach the final score of 9-4.

Pitching notes

Left-hander Matthew Liberatore started for St. Louis. The game was decided by a series of relievers as both clubs cycled through pitchers typical of spring training usage.

Jared Shuster was credited with the win for the Cardinals. Amos Willingham took the loss for Houston.

Key performers

• Alec Burleson: three-run home run in the fifth, turning a deficit into a Cardinals lead.
• Jimmy Crooks: two-run home run in the seventh during St. Louis’ decisive inning.
• Walker Janek (Astros): scored three times and was driven in twice as part of Houston’s early and mid-game scoring.
• Brice Matthews (Astros): RBI double that produced the game’s first run.

Final: Cardinals 9, Astros 4.

What it means in spring context

As a spring training result, the game offered a snapshot of depth competition and prospect evaluation more than settled regular-season roles. Several of the deciding contributions came from players who are typically evaluated for roster spots or minor-league assignments at this stage, while both clubs also used the game to distribute innings across multiple pitchers.

The teams are scheduled to meet multiple times during the 2026 spring calendar, with additional matchups in both Jupiter and the Astros’ West Palm Beach area sites later in camp.