Pujols powers Cardinals to sweep of Dodgers

Jul 16, 2006, 22:05 GMT

St. Louis, MO - Albert Pujols went 4-for-5 with three runs batted in as the St. Louis Cardinals extended their season-high winning streak to seven games by downing the Los Angeles Dodgers, 11-3, at Busch Stadium.

The win gave the Cardinals their best stretch since winning nine in a row from August 27 - September 5, 2004.

John Rodriguez stroked a pinch-hit home run for the Cardinals, who got their first four-game sweep of the Dodgers since taking a pair of doubleheaders on back-to-back days on July 7-8, 1987. Chris Duncan and Yadier Molina both finished 3-for-4. Right-hander Anthony Reyes (2-3) allowed two runs on seven hits with five strikeouts and one walk in five innings.

'We had an outstanding series,' St. Louis manager Tony La Russa said. 'We pitched well against the best hitting team in the league. No disrespect to the Dodgers, but today's score was misleading. We do need to keep it going because Atlanta has been playing well.'

Olmedo Saenz homered for the Dodgers, who lost for the 12th time in 13 road games. Kenny Lofton finished 3-for-3.

Brad Penny (10-3), the National League's starter for the All-Star Game, gave up six runs on 10 hits with five strikeouts and one walk in five innings.

St. Louis scored in the first when Duncan and Pujols hit back-to-back doubles.

Los Angeles answered with two runs to take the lead in the second. Saenz blasted the third pitch of the inning over the left-field wall. Andre Ethier followed with a double and later scored as Russell Martin grounded into a force out.

The Cardinals went ahead for good with two runs in the third. David Eckstein and Duncan singled, and Pujols came through with an RBI base hit. Saenz next scored as Jim Edmonds grounded out.

The Cardinals pulled away with three runs in the fifth. Duncan grounded a leadoff single, move up a base on a wild pitch and scored on a Pujols double. Edmonds followed with a walk and two outs later Molina lined a two-run double for a four-run St. Louis lead.

St. Louis padded its cushion with three more runs in the seventh. Scott Spiezio and Molina hit a pair of RBI singles and Spiezio then scored as So Taguchi grounded into a force out for a 9-2 margin.

The Cardinals scored two runs in the eighth. Eckstein reached on a fielding error by third baseman Cesar Izturis and Rodriguez sent the first pitch he saw over the wall in right field.

Saenz scored as Izturis grounded out in the ninth.

Game Notes

The Cardinals are a major-league best 26-9 in day games.

Pujols now has a six-game RBI streak, plating nine runs in that span.

Penny was starting for the first time in 11 days, although he pitched one-third of an inning last Sunday in the final game before the break.

The Cardinals are 13-4 in the last 17 matchups with Los Angeles.

© 2006 The Sports Network