Third time a big charm for Pujols

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Shut down Albert Pujols once? Maybe. Twice? Unlikely, but possible.

Three times in a row? Uh-uh.

Pujols, 1-for-9 in the first two games of St. Louis' series against Kansas City, hit two solo homers and drove in three runs as the Cardinals beat the Royals 13-6 on Sunday.

Pujols went 4-for-6, raising his major league-leading average to .391. He opened St. Louis' two-run fourth inning with his first homer of the day, giving the Cardinals a 6-2 lead, and made it 8-2 with a leadoff shot that sparked St. Louis' six-run sixth.

"So I went 1-for-9 before -- so what?" Pujols said. "I knew I was going to get my at-bats today, and I wasn't going to give any at-bats away."

Jim Edmonds also drove in three runs for the Cardinals, who wore vintage uniforms of the 1928 St. Louis Stars on Negro Leagues Day at Kauffman Stadium. The Royals wore uniforms of the 1924 Kansas City Monarchs.

Both of Pujols' home runs came off starter Chris George (9-5), who gave up 10 runs on 11 hits before being lifted with one out in the sixth.

"If there's a better lineup in baseball, I don't know who's got it," George said. "If I go out there again and make the same pitches I made today, I probably get a win."

Brett Tomko (4-5) went seven innings for the Cardinals, who stayed on top of the NL Central and dropped the Royals into a tie with Minnesota for the AL Central lead.

Tomko gave up four runs on four hits with three strikeouts and one walk. He won for the second time in his last three starts -- after going winless in eight starts before that.

"It's been a struggle, to put it lightly," Tomko said. "But the last three times out, I've finally figured a few things out."

After Kansas City's Desi Relaford led off the first with a home run, St. Louis took control of the game with a wild five-run second inning -- capped by Pujols' RBI single -- that saw two players and possibly a third hurt on one play.

With the bases loaded and no outs, St. Louis' J.D. Drew hit a groundball to first baseman Ken Harvey, who threw to second to force out Joe Girardi. Harvey then turned to cover first and ran into Drew as he reached the base safely with an RBI fielder's choice that put the Cardinals up 2-1.

Girardi, who slid into second trying to break up the double play, left after the second inning with a strained lower back. He said he did not know if he hurt himself sliding or trying to field Michael Tucker's foul bunt in the bottom of the second.

Drew was removed for pinch-runner Kerry Robinson after reaching third on Bo Hart's double. Harvey finished the inning, getting an assist on Edmonds' RBI grounder, but was replaced by Morgan Burkhart to start the third.

Girardi caught the bottom of the second and was removed for pinch-hitter Mike Matheny in the third.

Drew sustained a right hip flexor strain, and Harvey bruised his left shoulder.

After Edmonds' run-scoring grounder, Hart's RBI double made it 4-1. The Cardinals' first run also came on an unusual play.

Harvey fielded Tino Martinez's grounder and threw behind Eduardo Perez, who was breaking hard from third for the plate. Relaford threw home, but his high throw let Perez slide in safely.

Edgar Renteria went 2-for-4 with three runs for St. Louis. His RBI single made it 7-2 in the fourth.

Robinson, called up from Triple-A Memphis on Sunday -- just two days after being sent down -- was 3-for-4 with two doubles and two RBIs.

In the sixth, after Pujols homered and Perez scored on a wild pitch, Robinson hit a two-run double and Edmonds followed with a two-run single that made it 13-2.

Tucker drove in three runs for the Royals, with a two-run homer in the sixth inning and an RBI single in the eighth. Carlos Beltran had an RBI single in the third and Aaron Guiel hit one in the eighth to make it 13-6.Noteworthy

***The Cardinals scratched RHP Matt Morris from his scheduled start tonight against San Francisco with a tender right shoulder. The team plans to call up RHP Dan Haren from Memphis to make his major league debut.

***It was the second early departure for Drew in the three-game series. On Friday, he rolled his ankle on the dugout steps and had to leave after three innings.

***Pujols and Renteria recorded their 36th multihit games, tied for the NL lead.

***The series drew 118,806 fans, the fourth-highest total in Royals history for a three-game series.