HOUSTON —  Things looked so promising for the Astros through the first two innings Thursday night. J.A. Happ struck out four of the six batters he faced. Jed Lowrie hit a home run and Houston held a 2-0 lead.

Those same things quickly tilted towards awry as the Cardinals scored 14 unanswered runs off six Houston pitchers to beat the Astros 14-2 at Minute Maid Park. With the victory, St. Louis clinched the three-game series and sent Houston to a 2-4 record on this just-finished six-game home stand.

Happ looked good until the third inning, when he gave up a leadoff single and needed 40 pitches to get through the next seven batters. He needed just 26 pitches to get through the first two frames.

St. Louis took the lead for good in that inning, scoring three runs off the lefty before the damage was done. Happ made it through the fourth unscathed, but gave up a mammoth home run to Carlos Beltran, his 16th of the season.

Happ threw 4 2/3 innings, allowing five hits, four runs with five walks and six strikeouts. His ERA rose to 4.54 and fell to 4-6 on the season. It was the first time all season Happ had failed to finish the fifth inning.

Houston pitchers ended up walking 10 batters in the final seven innings of the game, with Rhiner Cruz and Wesley Wright combining to give up two walks, two home runs and seven runs in the seventh inning. That was capped by a grand slam from David Freese that made it 12-2.

The final Houston pitcher on the mound was outfielder Brian Bogusevic, who allowed a two-run home run to Freese in his pitching debut. Bogusevic was drafted out of Tulane by Houston as a pitcher, but switched to the outfield in 2008.

The Astros offensively couldn’t get anything going after the first few frames, as Cardinals starter Lance Lynn (9-2) struck out 11 in six innings of work. He gave up six hits, two walks and two runs on 103 pitches before being pulled for a pinch hitter in the seventh.

Lynn only allowed three baserunners after the second inning, giving up singles to Houston reliever David Carpenter, Brian Bogusevic and walking J.D. Martinez.

Lowrie was the only Houston position player with more than one hit, going 2 for 4 with a solo home run. Second baseman Jose Altuve was held hitless for the second time in his last eight games. He also struck out twice for the sixth time all season and just the ninth time of his young career.

Houston will begin a nine-game road trip this weekend with a three game set against the Chicago White Sox. Wandy Rodriguez (4-4) is set to face Chicago’s Gavin Floyd (4-5) in tonight’s opener.

ASTROS NOTES: Lowrie’s tenth home run puts him on pace for 31 this season. The Astros home run record by a shortstop is 20, set by Dickie Thon in 1983. … It was the first time Houston had walked nine batters in a game since Sep. 24, 2011 against Colorado. That game went 13 innings, and the last time Houston had given up nine walks in a 9-inning game was July 3 of the same year. …