Pujols lifts Cards to Game 2 rout of Brewers

MILWAUKEE?It was the Albert Pujols Show, for sure, on Monday night. But he also had some Ed McMahon-like sidekick help. Not that he needed much.

Pujols clubbed a home run and three doubles in his first four plate appearances and drove in five runs to push the St. Louis Cardinals to a 12-3 blowout victory over the Milwaukee Brewers in Game 2 of the National League Championship Series at Miller Park. The series is tied 1-1 as it heads to St. Louis for Game 3 on Wednesday.

Pujols is now 38-for-101 (.376) in 27 career NLCS games, with nine home runs, 23 RBIs and 23 runs scored. His 42 career postseason RBIs are now the most in Cardinals history.

The home run was as gift-wrapped as they come for a hitter of his caliber. Brewers righthander Shaun Marcum grooved an 89-mph fastball that caught too much of the inside half of the plate and ended up belt-high. Pujols had no trouble turning it around for a two-run shot. He also had no problem admiring it for a little longer than usual since it came against a hated division rival.

With two runners on and one out in the third inning, Marcum tossed in another 89-mph four-seamer, this time on the outer half. Pujols extended his arms and drove it to center field, where his buddy Nyjer Morgan was playing?Morgan infamously referred to Pujols as ?Alberta? after a benches-clearing incident during the regular season. Morgan did not play the ball well and it ended up bouncing off the base of the wall for a two-run double and a 4-0 St. Louis lead.

Pujols drove in only one run with his second double, in the fifth, and his third double started a string of six consecutive hits off reliever Kameron Loe in the seventh. Matt Holliday, Lance Berkman, Yadier Molina, David Freese and Nick Punto all singled behind Pujols as the Cardinals tagged Loe for four runs to break the game open.

St. Louis starter Edwin Jackson pitched decently, allowing two runs in 4 1/3 innings. But he also allowed seven hits, and manager Tony La Russa, knowing the importance of tying this series, yanked Jackson in the fifth after Ryan Braun doubled.

The Brewers' starting pitching continued to be shaky outside of ace Yovani Gallardo. Marcum allowed five runs on seven hits in four innings, making the rotation?s postseason ERA 11.51 outside of Gallardo. In fact, Marcum?s poor start lowered that figure; it was 11.57 before Monday.

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