Pujols blasts three homers to power Cardinals past Reds

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Albert Pujols belted three home runs,
including a game winning two-run blast, to power the St Louis
Cardinals to an 8-7 decision over the Cincinnati Reds at Busch
Stadium on Sunday.

Trailing 7-6 in the bottom of the ninth, Pujols took a 1-2
offering from Reds closer David Weathers (0-1) and parked it
over the left field fence to bring in Jason Marquis.

The triple-homer game was the second of Pujols’ career, the
NL MVP also matching career highs with five RBI and four runs.

Pujols’ eighth homer of the season was also his sixth walk
off home run of his career, which he celebrated with a dance
around the bases.

“When you get a walk off homer, you get to do whatever you
want,” Pujols told MLB.com. “You need to be excited about it.

“You don’t get too many of those, so you need to enjoy them
when they come.

“Everybody knows how I feel.

“It’s about winning games. In the off-season, maybe I can
think about a game like this.

“But we have a game in Pittsburgh (on Monday). Hopefully,
I’ll hit three more and forget about (Sunday).”

Scott Rolen also homered for the Cardinals while John
Rodriguez added a two-run triple and David Eckstein a pair of
hits and a run for St Louis.

However, Pujols’ ninth inning blast was the hit that
brought a sell-out crowd to their feet.

Marquis started the ninth with a leadoff single, setting
the stage for Pujols, who crushed a towering shot down the left
field line that stayed just inside the foul pole.

In Los Angeles, Brad Hennessey combined with three
relievers on a three-hit shutout as the Dodgers blanked the San
Francisco Giants 2-0 with Barry Bonds enduring another tough
day at the plate.

Hennessey (1-0) was brilliant, scattering three hits over 6
1/3 scoreless innings before turning the game over to the
bullpen.

Scott Munter and Steve Kline held the Giants without a hit
then gave way to closer Tim Worrell, who pitched a perfect
ninth to nail down the win and his fifth save of the season.

Omar Vizquel and Mark Sweeney each had a pair of hits and
scored a run while Ray Durham recorded the game’s only RBI.

Vizquel score the Dodgers’ other run on a balk.

Bonds, meanwhile, continued to struggle, going hitless in
two at-bats leaving the Giants slugger just 4-for-23 on the
season.

He also walked and was hit by pitch.

Bonds (708) has yet to homer this season and remains six
behind second-placed Babe Ruth on major league baseball’s
all-time list.

In New York, Carlos Delgado had a three-run homer and
Xavier Nady added a two-run shot as the Mets continued their
sizzling start to the season dumping the Milwaukee Brewers 9-3.

With the victory the Mets improved their record to 9-2,
coming out on top of all four series they have played this
season.

Clinging to a 4-3 lead, Delgado’s fourth homer of the
season broke open the tight contest, keying a five-run eighth
inning.

Nady, David Wright and Jose Rios each scored a pair of
runs.

Brian Bannister (2-0), making just his third major league
start, tossed five strong innings to earn the decision,
yielding one run on six hits while striking out four.

Ben Sheets (0-1), coming off the disabled list to make his
first start of the season, absorbed the loss surrendering four
runs on six hits in five innings of work.