ST. LOUIS – Nothing was working for Jake Westbrook, a groundball pitcher who gave up three sacrifice flies.

No worries with the St. Louis Cardinals offense ringing up 17 hits against a team that’s still waiting for the adrenaline charge that usually comes with changing managers.

David Freese’s three-run homer snapped the team’s seven-game long-ball drought and Matt Holliday’s three-run double was the go-ahead blow as St. Louis beat the Houston Astros 13-5 Thursday to complete a three-game sweep.

“I was in trouble the whole day, really,” Westbrook said. “Our offense came through and really picked me up. Picked this team up.”

Freese and Matt Holliday each had four RBI and Allen Craig had three hits and three RBI. The Cardinals shrugged aside a 4-0, fourth-inning deficit and sent Houston to its seventh straight loss.

“This team, they get the blood in the water and they can pile them on,” Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said.

The Astros are 0-4 while getting outscored 32-8 since interim manager Tony DeFrancesco replaced Brad Mills as leader of the stripped-down roster. Houston has won just seven of its last 50 overall.

“We got 11 hits and some of the guys got some big days, so there is some life,” DeFrancesco said. “Unfortunately, once the game gets out of hand it’s tough for our guys to continue to bounce back after they’ve been getting beat on for a while.”

Westbrook (13-9) surrendered five runs on seven hits, two walks and two hit batters in five innings, ending a string of 13 consecutive starts of at least six innings.

ROCKIES 1, METS 0: In New York, Collin McHugh pitched two-hit ball over seven scoreless innings for the Mets in his major league debut, but Colorado completed its second straight four-game sweep of New York with a win as Jordany Valdespin misplayed Tyler Colvin’s leadoff drive in the eighth into a game-changing triple.

McHugh had nine strikeouts and one walk. But after he left, the Rockies broke through quickly off Bobby Parnell (2-3).