It was a good evening for Cardinals fans, who enjoyed a tidy 6-1 win over the Astros. And not so much fun for Astros fans, some of whom have been reading this blog. To Astros fans, I extend a welcome and thank you for your friendly e-mails…

Let’s begin…

– I never hesitate to admit when I’m wrong. When Cardinals GM John Mozeliak signed shortstop Cesar Izturis to a 1-yr deal for around $3 million, I ripped the move. In the last couple of seasons, Izturis had declined offensively to the point of being useless. And his fielding skills were eroding, in part because of injuries.

Well, score one for Mozeliak. I’m not saying Izturis is Hanley Ramirez, but he’s been a positive addition. Wednesday, Izturis tripled home two runs, and continued a nice, if quiet, comeback season. Izturis is getting on base at a .359 clip, and that would be a career high. Because he takes so many turns as the No. 9 hitter, he is, in effect, a second leadoff man in Tony La Russa’s pitcher-batting-eighth structure. So a decent OBP for Izturis is a plus; because he’s getting on base, he’s been in position to score 17 runs so far.

And defensively, the Bill James/John Dewan stats show that his range has improved on ground balls hit to to his right side; Izturis is making a lot of good plays in the hole. His sure fielding has been a major component of a STL infield that ranks No. 1 in the NL in Revised Zone Rating. And with a ground-ball pitching staff, the Cardinals need to make plays. They are. And the team’s record is 27-19 when Izturis plays shortstop this season. Defensively, Izturis is a clear upgrade over the David Eckstein we saw here in 2007.

- Speaking of fielding, even though Cardinals 2B Adam Kennedy is in a brutal slump offensively, he’s done his job with the glove. Kennedy’s RZR ranks third among NL 2B…

- I like what La Russa did with Wednesday’s lineup, inserting firecracker Brendan Ryan into the leadoff spot. Ryan is a definite energy guy. His speed in racing to second base probably created pressure on Kaz Matsui, the Houston 2B, who threw the ball into left field for an error. The miscue opened the gates for a 3-run STL first. Ryan has holes in his game, but since he arrived on the scene last summer, the Cardinals are 34-23 when he gets at least three ABs in a game, and 22-9 when he gets at least 4 ABs.

- A question for web-surfing Astros fans: please explain Wandy Rodriguez to me. Since the start of the 2006 season, he’s made 31 starts at the hitter-friendly Minute Maid Park. He’s 12-8 with a 3.69 ERA there. But after absorbing the loss in STL Wednesday, Rodriguez on the road is 7-16 with a 5.99 ERA since the start of the ‘06 campaign. I don’t get it. I would have assumed the place — with those cozy Crawford boxes in left — would cause great torment for a LH pitcher. Yes, I know Andy Pettitte pitched well at Minute Maid; his ERA there from 2004-2006 was 3.38. But that’s Andy Pettitte, one of the best lefties of his generation. But what up with Wandy?

I didn’t have time to crunch the numbers in an extensive way … but I did make a surprising discovery: since Minute Maid Park opened in 2000, Astros pitchers have fared better there than on the road.

Take a look:

Home ERA: 4.14

Road ERA: 4.38

And the opponents’ batting lines follow suit:

At Houston: .257 / .320 / .424

Not at Houston: .266 / .338 / 431

Go figure …

- Albert Pujols trails Lance Berkman in the All-Star voting for 1B in the NL. Berkman should prevail; the Astros have 16 home games in June; the Cardinals only nine. Berkman is having an excellent season and so far is deserving of the honor (still some baseball to be played before voting closes, though). The deep quality of the 1B pool in the National League is astounding. There’s Berkman, Pujols, the underrated Adrian Gonzalez (San Diego), Derrek Lee (Cubs), Ryan Howard (Philly), Mark Teixeira (Atlanta), Prince Fielder (Milwaukee), the overlooked Mike Jacobs (Florida) and the young and talented Joey Votto (Cincy), Conor Jackson (AZ) and James Loney (LA). And I haven’t even mentioned Todd Helton (COL) yet. Or Nick Johnson (D.C.).

What a group…

Thanks for reading…

-B