Posted on Mon, May. 05, 2008

CARDINALS 5, CUBS 3

Pujols gets key hit as Cards top rivals

Slugger reaches base for 32nd straight game in St. Louis win

Associated Press

ST. LOUIS --

Albert Pujols reached base for the 32nd consecutive game, and he did it with a two-run double in the fourth inning that was the go-ahead hit in St. Louis' 5-3 victory against the Chicago Cubs on Sunday night.

Todd Wellemeyer (3-1) beat the team that drafted him in 2000 and gave him his first shot in the major leagues, with five solid innings, helping the Cardinals take two of three from their Central Division rival. All three games were sold out, the first capacity crowds since opening day, including attendance of 44,969 in the finale.

Jason Isringhausen worked a perfect ninth against the top of the order for his 10th save in 13 chances, shaking off recent woes, to help the Cardinals finish 7-3 on a season-long 10-game homestand.

Adam Kennedy had a pair of RBI singles and walked twice, and catcher Yadier Molina received a huge ovation in the fifth when he threw out Ryan Theriot attempting to steal second from his knees, ending up prone in front of the plate.

The Cardinals beat up on former teammate Jason Marquis (1-2), who surrendered five runs and seven hits in 51/3 innings. Marquis was 3-1 last season against St. Louis, where he was a starter for three years before signing with the Cubs.

Pujols struck out on an awkward swing and grounded into a double play in his first two at-bats before his two-out double just inside the third-base line snapped a 2-2 tie in the fourth. He drew his major league-high 33rd walk in the sixth, and entered the game with a major league-best .518 on-base percentage.

The Cubs took the lead in the second on Reed Johnson's RBI double and Alfonso Soriano's sacrifice fly and the Cardinals promptly tied in the bottom half with four straight out-one hits including RBI singles by Skip Schumaker and Adam Kennedy.