Cardinals 6, Astros 1: Pete Kozma homered for the second straight game, a two-run blast that helped resurgent St. Louis beat host Houston for the ninth consecutive time.

Lance Lynn (17-7) recovered from a wobbly first two innings to win his third straight start as the Cardinals extended their lead to 3 1/2 games over Milwaukee and Los Angeles for the second National League wild card. He struck out nine and allowed one run on five hits in seven innings.

Yadier Molina clubbed a solo home run and Matt Holliday added a two-run single to reach 100 RBIs for the season as St. Louis won its third in a row and improved to 7-1 in the last eight.

Houston's Fernando Abad (0-6) lost his sixth straight start, exiting with a right oblique strain after a two-out walk to Matt Carpenter in the second inning. Reliever Fernando Rodriguez was promptly greeted by Daniel Descalso's RBI triple, followed by Kozma's two-run blast for a 3-0 lead.

Scott Moore had a pair of hits, including a two-out RBI single in the second inning for Houston, which has been outscored by St. Louis 62-17 during the nine-game skid.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Cardinals CF Jon Jay made a sensational catch to rob Jason Castro in the fourth, leaping to knock down his liner and bobbling the ball once before snaring it with his bare hand as he tumbled to the ground. ... Astros All-Star 2B Jose Altuve was not in the starting lineup after exiting Sunday's game due to tightness in his groin. 3B Matt Dominguez also was scratched with a stomach virus. ... Cardinals 3B David Freese, riding a seven-game hitting streak, was a late scratch after rolling his ankle in pregame warmups.