[外電] Pujols paces Cardinals past Angels
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Pujols paces Cardinals past Angels
First baseman crushes two homers, drives in five in finale
By Jim Molony / MLB.com
ST. LOUIS -- Albert Pujols put on a power display Sunday to put a stop to the
Cardinals' three-game losing streak.
The St. Louis first baseman slugged a pair of home runs while driving in five
runs to help the Cardinals salvage their Interleague series finale with a 9-6
victory over the Angels at Busch Stadium.
Pujols belted his 14th and 15th homers of the season and walked in four plate
appearances. He has hit six homers in his last nine games. His six home runs
in June match his entire output for April and are twice the number he hit in
May.
"[It's] the same swing," Pujols said. "I'm catching more breaks, I guess,
now. Like I said, nothing changed, [it's the] same preparations that I have
for the game, you put in good swings and that I take advantage of the
mistakes that they make. The last couple of months, they were getting away
with that. Now I'm putting my good swing and the ball's going out of the park
or I hit a line drive somewhere."
The win gave the Cardinals a split of their six-game homestand.
"It was big, because it was our first game that we've won [in] Interleague
[Play]," Pujols said. "They are a tough team, they have a pretty good bullpen
and a pretty good starter. I'm just glad we didn't get swept."
Shortstop David Eckstein led off the fifth inning with a single to center,
his 1,000th career hit and one of three by Eckstein on the day. So Taguchi
followed with a ground ball to short, but the Angels were unable to retire
either runner, setting the stage for Pujols.
Pujols worked Angels reliever Chris Bootcheck (1-1) to a 3-2 count before
sending the right-hander's payoff pitch -- a slider -- into the left-field
bullpen. The three-run shot gave the Cards a 6-4 lead and gave Pujols 19
career multi-homer games, including three this season.
Leadoff man Eckstein and No. 2 hitter Taguchi came to the plate eight times
on the day and reached six times.
"That helps, obviously, and I have two guys behind me that can do the same
damage that I can do," Pujols said. "No matter if I have guys on base or not,
I just try to be patient and don't chase balls out of the strike zone like I
did on my last at-bat and [I'm] just glad that [Scott] Spiezio came up with
the big hit with two outs."
After the Angels had cut the St. Louis lead to one with a run in the sixth,
Spiezio hit a three-run homer off Hector Carrasco with two outs in the
seventh to boost the Cardinals advantage to 9-5.
Mike Napoli put the Angels ahead with an RBI single in the fourth. Napoli,
given the green light on 3-0, lined a single to center to score Gary Matthews
Jr. to give the Angels a 4-3 lead.
Pujols powered a 2-2 fastball from Angels starter Jered Weaver into the
left-field seats with Taguchi aboard in the third to tie the game at 3.
The Angels got to Cards starter Todd Wellemeyer (2-1) for three runs in the
third, courtesy of a run-scoring single from Chone Figgins and a two-run
double from Orlando Cabrera.
Wellemeyer gave up five runs (four earned) on seven hits in 5 1/3 innings to
earn the victory.
"I tell you what, I made it a point to commend him a couple of times during
the game and then again after the game," manager Tony La Russa said. "He only
won the game because he never quit competing, never quit battling. One part
where it was a little rocky for him, he never gave in, he came back out there
and got his delivery back together. That was impressive. I don't think we
would have won the game without him."
La Russa also commended the right-hander's mental toughness.
"I think [pitching coach Dave Duncan] had a little delivery suggestion for
him and it helped him," La Russa said. "[Wellemeyer] was tough. [It was]
starting to rain, lot of ways to have a 'Not my day' response. He responded
the other way."
St. Louis second baseman Aaron Miles said Wellemeyer's pitching into the
sixth inning was big.
"He did a nice job," Miles said. "He kept us in the game and stayed with it.
This was a big win."
La Russa said Wellemeyer had earned another start when his turn comes up
again next weekend at Oakland.
"I would have definitely liked to have gone at least six full, but 5 1/3 is
better than my last one," Wellemeyer said. "It was a little bit of a grind,
but we won the game and that's really all that matters."
Juan Encarnacion hit a full-count pitch from Weaver over the reach of
Matthews in center for a triple in the second. The hit extended Encarnacion's
hitting streak to 11 games, and when he scored on Miles' base hit to right,
St. Louis had a 1-0 lead.
"I think the early keys were So's and David's play, Encarnacion's triple,
those things really kind of jump started us," La Russa said.
And set the table for Pujols, whose three multi-homer games this season have
all come on a Sunday. He has hit eight of his home runs on Sunday.
"I wish every day is a Sunday," Pujols said with a smile. "I think every day
is the best day for me, no matter if it's Sunday or Monday. It's funny,
because most of my home runs have come on Sunday. It's awesome, but every day
to me is a blessed day to me because God has blessed me and my family."
Jim Molony is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the
approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
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