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Cardinals-Giants Preview

May 31, 2009 - 5:44 AM By NICOLINO DIBENEDETTO STATS Writer

St. Louis (29-20) at San Francisco (24-24), 4:05 p.m. EDT

Hitting a pair of home runs is one way for Albert Pujols to break out of a slump.

The reigning NL MVP will now try to help Adam Wainwright match his career-high winning streak on Sunday when the St. Louis Cardinals conclude their three-game road set against the San Francisco Giants.

Pujols was in a slump by his standards, managing only one homer in 15 games while hitting .311 with six RBIs after posting a .328 average with 13 homers and 34 RBIs over the previous 32 games.

The All-Star first baseman put an end to a seven-game homerless drought by hitting two solo shots to help the Cardinals (29-20) to a 6-2 win at San Francisco (24-24) on Saturday. That came after he collected two singles in Friday's 4-2 loss in the series opener.

"He's a great hitter," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said following Pujols' third multihomer game of the season. "(Barry Zito) threw a good pitch, and Pujols hit it to the deepest part of the park. Later on, we made a mistake, and he made us pay for it. When you make a mistake to a great hitter, that's what happens."

Despite his recent funk, Pujols still leads the Cardinals - who are tied with Milwaukee atop the NL Central - with a .329 average, 16 homers, 42 RBIs, seven stolen bases and a major league-high 40 walks.

He'll try to carry some of that momentum into Sunday's finale and help Wainwright (5-2, 3.18 ERA) win a third consecutive start for the first time since July 5-20, 2007.

Wainwright has been outstanding in winning his last two games, allowing two runs and 10 hits with 16 strikeouts in 15 2-3 innings.

The right-hander claimed he wasn't at his best on Tuesday, striking out a career-high nine while yielding one run and five hits in an 8-1 win at Milwaukee. The right-hander even helped himself out with a solo homer in the fourth.

"My arm was just not in a position to throw a baseball correctly (Tuesday), but I just said I was going to fire it up there and let my defense work," said Wainwright, who has reached at least the seventh inning in each of his last three starts, going 2-1 with a 1.14 ERA.

Wainwright, who leads the Cardinals in wins and strikeouts (56), is 1-1 with a 5.06 ERA in three games - one start - against the Giants. The defeat came in his only career start at San Francisco on April 10, 2008, when he allowed four runs and eight hits in seven innings of a 5-1 loss.

The Giants are looking to rebound from Saturday's defeat, which halted a four-game winning streak that included a sweep of Atlanta.

Jonathan Sanchez (2-4, 4.60) takes the mound for San Francisco, trying to win consecutive starts for the first time since June 24-29.

The left-hander allowed two runs and four hits with six strikeouts in five innings of an 8-2 win over Atlanta on Monday. That came after he went 0-3 with a 5.06 ERA in his previous six games - five starts.

Sanchez, though, has been impressive in four home starts, going 2-0 with a 2.42 ERA while striking out 20 in 22 1-3 innings.

He's also recorded wins in both career meetings - one start - against the Cardinals, holding them to four hits while fanning eight in eight scoreless innings.