ST. LOUIS — With the team that he turned down in town for a few days, Nolan Arenado gave the Houston Astros an eyeful already of why they wanted him – it just came against them.

Arenado punctuated his three-hit game Monday night at the ballpark he chose to still call home with a solo homer that launched the Cardinals to what almost was a second second consecutive shutout. Arenado’s three extra-base hits fused with teammate Brendan Donovan’s four hits and Sonny Gray’s scoreless start for a 8-3 victory against the Astros.

Gray pitched seven shutout innings, and the Cardinals took a shutout into the ninth inning. Jeremy Pena's three-run homer provided the first runs against the Cardinals since Saturday afternoon.

Seeking to trim payroll and find a contender for Arenado to continue his pursuit of a championship, the Cardinals agreed upon a trade with Houston in December, shortly after the winter meetings. The Astros were one of the few teams that fit characteristics Arenado wanted in a new team, but as they worked out a trade for him they also dealt outfielder Kyle Tucker to the Chicago Cubs. That, Arenado said later, among other things gave him pause, and he used his no-trade power to veto the deal.

When trade talks with other approved teams did not manifest a deal, Arenado opened the season with the Cardinals – and was at home Monday instead of visiting.

Looked right at home, too.

In a game hinted at by his two singles in Sunday’s shutout of the Phillies, Arenado doubled in his first at-bat. In the fifth inning, Arenado dueled Houston starter Framber Valdez through a 10-pitch at-bat. Arenado fouled off four consecutive pitches at one point. He nicked a sinker, dispatched a changeup, got a piece of a curve and tipped another sinker. When Valdez went back to the curveball, Arenado drilled it for an RBI double.

Valdez was the second lefty sinkerballer the Cardinals faced in three days, and coming so soon after Philadelphia Cristopher Sanchez riddled them with 97-mph sink and ground balls galore, the Cardinals were able to elevate Valdez. The Cardinals uprooted Valdez’s sinker (and his curveball, for that matter) for seven runs on 10 hits in four-plus innings. Valdez had allowed five runs so far this season before he allowed seven runs (six earned) to the Cardinals.

Five of the 10 hits against Valdez (1-2) were doubles.

Arenado had two of them.

Gray flummoxes Astros

Including the 20 consecutive Phillies the Cardinals’ pitchers retired to close out Sunday’s game, the staff went a streak of 37 batters allowing only two of them to reach base.

Before a leadoff double in the sixth inning, Gray had limited the Astros to an infield single that barely got past the mound.

A runner did not get safely to second against Gray until that double.

And that Astro was tagged out at third a short time later.

Gray improved to 3-0 for the season and completed the seventh inning for the first time. The opening day starter struck out four and limited the Astros to three hits. The Astro he walked was caught stealing. Two of the three hits he allowed were out before they could get to second. And it took Gray only 62 pitches to blitz through his first 15 outs.

Walker without trouble in field

What began for Jordan Walker with a grin from fellow outfielder Victor Scott II continued with a congratulations from the teammates he slipped between to rob a hit from Jose Altuve.

By the end of the third inning, Walker had covered ground from Scott’s position in center to the seats in foul territory down the first-base line – all as he tracked down four catches for Gray of varying degrees of difficulty. Coach Jon Jay, who works with Walker daily on his outfield play, noted Sunday how the right fielder has become more assertive in every move in the field – and that includes when calling teammates off for the catch. Walker might have taken that a stride too far in the first inning as he settled in center field ahead of Scott for a catch.

Scott watched and smiled as Walker made the play.

Walker caught a routine ball to open the second, and in the third there was nothing routine about either of the catches he made. To retire Mauricio Dubon, Walker reached toward the net that protects seat along the baseline and snagged a popup before it touched the net. Two batters later he dashed in from right field and slid into a seam two teammates could not reach – and was there to grab a foul popup from Jose Altuve.

All four of the catches by Walker, including the two that took at-bats away with outs in foul territory, came with the game still scoreless and Gray building momentum.

Walker and double-doubles at plate

As the Cardinals added on to their lead, Walker was again in the middle.

Hitting coach Brant Brown told hitters during spring training that “the best non-home run play in baseball is the double-double.” He wasn’t ordering a burger.

“Trade places,” he explained.

A double followed by a double – a double-double – produces a run, and during the Cardinals binge against Valdez, Walker and his teammates doubled up on the double-doubles. In the fourth, Walker stung a ball that found the right-field corner for a double. That put him and Donovan in scoring position for Pedro Pages to double them both in. Walker’s double preceded Pages’ double, and the Cardinals led 4-0.

In the fifth, Arenado’s double on the 10th pitch of an at-bat came right ahead of … well, Donovan’s double for another double-double. Donovan’s scored Arenado and pushed the Cardinals toward a 7-0 lead Gray took into the sixth inning.

Donovan hitting .500 during streak

Donovan extended his hitting streak to 10 consecutive games with a single in the second inning, and did not stop there. By the time the Cardinals opened their hearty lead, the middle infielder – who started at shortstop Monday – was 3 for 3. He added a fourth hit in the seventh inning to tie a career high for the third time.

At that point in the longest active hitting streak in the majors, Donovan was 20 for 39 since April 4. That's an average of .513.

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