ST. LOUIS — The St. Louis Cardinals count on Albert Pujols for big hits. His latest blast might have saved their season.
Pujols’ go-ahead three-run homer with two outs in the eighth inning was the difference in St. Louis’ 4-2 victory over the San Diego Padres on Wednesday night, ending a seven-game losing streak during which the Cardinals’ NL Central lead shriveled to 1 1/2 games.
“You work on a zero for a while and it gets tougher and tougher to win one,” manager Tony La Russa said. “It’s very important in a lot of ways.”
Pujols hit a 1-0 pitch from Cla Meredith into the third of four decks over the left-field wall to erase a one-run deficit. He had driven in one run in the previous five games before the booming shot eased the Cardinals’ frustration.
Pujols said he hasn’t been overly troubled by the way St. Louis’ lead has quickly dwindled.
“We don’t need to play a catch-up game here, somebody had to catch us,” Pujols said. “It’s tough with that seven-game losing streak, but it stops here.”
Pujols has 47 homers and 19 have accounted for the game-winning RBI. That ties Willie Mays (1962) for the highest single-season total from data that goes back to 1957.
St. Louis has won only two of its past 10, five of the losses by one run. While the Cardinals were struggling, second-place Houston has been streaking. The Astros beat Pittsburgh 7-6 in 15 innings on Wednesday for their eighth straight victory.
The Cardinals got to the San Diego bullpen after Chris Young followed a near no-hitter with seven dominant innings, ending the Padres’ six-game winning streak. St. Louis also reduced its magic number for clinching a third straight division title to four.
So Taguchi drew a leadoff walk against Scott Linebrink (7-4) and Aaron Miles walked with one out. Chris Duncan then struck out before Pujols greeted Meredith, who entered the game with a 0.72 ERA, with a two-out blast estimated at 425 feet on a sinker that the reliever said “didn’t sink.”