Pujols makes peace with Bucs' Perez

ST. LOUIS -- Albert Pujols feels he made his point to Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Oliver Perez when he homered against him last week.

When Pujols homered in a 12-4 loss at Pittsburgh on April 18, the St. Louis Cardinals' star flipped his bat with disdain. When he hit his major league-leading 12th homer on Monday, another drive off Perez, Pujols set his bat down and sprinted around the bases

Pujols said his theatrics in Pittsburgh had been a reaction to Perez making a celebratory dance after retiring him in the previous at-bat.

"I got real upset and I told the guys, 'I'm going to hit the next ball and I'm going to hit it a long way, but don't look at the ball, look at where the bat is going to land,'" Pujols said Tuesday before the Cardinals defeated the Pirates 6-3. "He's disrespecting the game when you start pointing and looking when you strike somebody out."

Both players considered the matter behind them.

"I don't think I need to show him up again," Pujols said. "If anybody in the game shows me, be ready because I always remember that. I just believe if you do it, don't try to look at the player, don't try to look into the dugout, just do your thing."

Perez said he meant no harm in Pittsburgh.

"I just have fun in the field, I don't try to intimidate anybody," Perez said. "So some people, they think I do something against him or something.

"That's how I play my baseball."

Cardinals manager Tony La Russa said Pujols, the NL MVP last year, should not draw undue criticism for his actions. While not condoning Pujols' move, he called him an "exemplary pro."

"So he flips the bat and right away a number of people start using it to jab him," La Russa said. "I said, 'There must be a reason,' and there was. He's not that kind of player."