Lance Berkman capped his homecoming tour with a go-ahead three-run homer in the sixth inning and a solo shot in the ninth as the St. Louis Cardinals bashed their way to an 11-7 victory over the host Houston Astros on Thursday.

Matt Holliday added a pair of RBIs during the nine-run sixth for the Cardinals, who took two of three in the series.

Houston held a 4-1 lead in the sixth inning, but watched it unravel quickly when Nelson Figueroa allowed singles to the first three batters. The Astros went to the bullpen for Fernando Abad (1-2), who served up a three-run homer to Berkman to put St. Louis on top, 5-4.

The Cardinals sent 14 batters to the plate and add five more runs in the frame.

Berkman, who still lives in Houston and spent the first 14 years of his professional career in the Astros organization, is on a tear for his new club. He finished 4-for-5 on Thursday to run his streak of multi-hit games to seven.

Kyle McClellan (4-0) did not have his best stuff but fought through 5 2/3 innings to pick up the win.