Behind solid pitching – and hitting – from Bud Norris, the Houston Astros held on for a 5-1 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals on Thursday afternoon, snapping a season-opening eight-game losing streak.

With the game scoreless going into the third, Norris had an RBI single, and later in the inning, Jeff Keppinger added an RBI double to give the Astros a 2-0 lead.

Norris (1-1) proceeded to make the lead stand, going five innings and allowing a run on four hits with nine strikeouts.

The Cardinals pulled to within 2-1 in the fourth when David Freese had an RBI single to left.

The Astros cushioned their lead with three runs in the eighth. Keppinger had a two-run single and Pedro Feliz followed with an RBI double.

Cardinals right-hander Kyle Lohse (0-1) took the loss, but pitched well over seven innings, allowing two runs on five hits.