Doug Fister pitched effectively into the eighth inning and scored a two-run single in the seventh to lead the Houston Astros to a 5-2 road victory over the St. Louis Cardinals on Tuesday night.

Doug Fister Leads Astros To 5-2 Win Over Cardinals

The Astros have now won nine straight games with Fister on the mound.

“We always talk about it being fun for a pitcher to hit, but I really take it seriously,” the right-hander said. “Sure, it felt good.”

Colby Rasmus hit his 150th career homer in his first game back in St. Louis since 2011.

“It was a feeling I’ve felt before and it was a good feeling, and now I’m on the other side of the coin, but it’s all good,” said Rasmus, a former St. Louis first-round draft pick. “I just wanted to come out and be myself and enjoy the moment, not get too caught up in this or that.”

Fister (7-3) had been 0 for 2 this season before greeting reliever Seung Hwan Oh with a hit up the middle to put Houston ahead by three in the seventh. He also allowed two runs and five hits in 7 1/3 innings, his longest outing of the season.

“I don’t even typically know those things,” Fister said. “I look at it day to day and know our guys are going out there fighting.”

The hit marked Fister’s first since Aug. 14, 2015, and gave the right-hander four career RBIs. His last RBI came in 2013 for the Detroit Tigers.

The Astros’ 6-7-8 hitters were a combined 6 for 7 against Jaime Garcia (4-6).  Rasmus also singled, Carlos Gomez singled and scored twice and Marwin Gonzalez singled and doubled with an RBI.

Matt Adams and Brandon Moss homered for the Cardinals, who snapped a season-best five-game winning streak.

Fister reired 14 in a row after Adams homered leading off the second, a streak that ended on Moss’s homer in the sixth that put the Cardinals just one run down with the score at 3-2. Moss has four homers in his last seven games.

“If you hit, the at-bats will be there,” Moss said confidently.

Garcia has now lost four of his last five starts. The lefty is 2-6 with a 6.15 ERA in 10 career starts against the Astros, the last win coming in 2012.

“Everybody needs encouragement, I don’t care who you are,” Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said. “But he shouldn’t doubt the kind of pitcher he can be. When he’s right he can be as good as anybody in the game.”

Houston right-hander Will Harris worked a perfect ninth for his fourth save in as many chances.

The two teams will face off again at Busch Stadium in St. Louis on Wednesday night, with right-hander Collin McHugh starting for the Astros (31-35, 3rd in AL West), while right-hander Adam Wainwright will take the mound for the Cardinals (35-29, 2nd in NL Central).

PHOTO: ARLINGTON, TX – JUNE 08: Doug Fister #58 of the Houston Astros throws in the first inning against the Texas Rangers at Globe Life Park in Arlington on June 8, 2016 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Rick Yeatts/Getty Images)

In the hopes of adding more veteran pitchers to a staff led by Cy Young Award winner Dallas Keuchel, the Houston Astros agreed to a one-year deal with free agent Doug Fister on Thursday.

Doug Fister Signed to Astros As Part of One-Year Deal

The deal was announced by MLB’s Brian McTaggart on Twitter, and was also confirmed by the club:

Fister had a tough season in 2015. He went merely 5-7 in 25 games (15 starts) for the Washington Nationals, with a 4.19 ERA. His previous season with the Nats was better, however: he earned a 16-6 record and 2.41 ERA, so there is hope that he could return to being the type of pitcher he was with the Detroit Tigers from 2011 to 2013 (when he was 32-20 with a 3.29 ERA).

PHOTO: WASHINGTON, DC – AUGUST 03: Doug Fister #33 of the Washington Nationals pitches in the first inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Nationals Park on August 3, 2015 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Greg Fiume/Getty Images)