As soon as Albert Pujols swung the bat there was no doubt. His towering, three-run homer in the first inning gave the Cardinals a 3-0 lead. The Brewers, much like the home run, were long gone the rest of the way as St. Louis posted a 12-3 win. Miguel Cairo also blasted a three-run homer as both players finished the game with four RBI’s on the evening. Pujols has 19 homers, Cairo has three and Jim Edmonds, who also went deep, has 19. Starting pitcher Garrett Stephenson was efficient in seven innings of work, allowing five hits, a walk and two runs. He struck out four Brewers and upped his record to 4-5 on the season. Esteban Yan, Jeff Fassero and Dustin Hermanson held Milwaukee to two hits and no runs the rest of the way. The victory cut their third-place deficit in the National League Central to two games. The Cubs are in first place and the Astros, who are a half game in front of the Cardinals, are in second.
