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Cardinals-Braves Preview

Sep 12, 2010 - 1:21 AM By SANTOSH VENKATARAMAN STATS Senior Writer

St. Louis (73-66) at Atlanta (81-61), 8:05 p.m. EDT

While Albert Pujols has a chance to win another MVP, he believes Tim Hudson can win his first Cy Young Award.

The All-Stars will square off Sunday night when Hudson and the Atlanta Braves finish a four-game series against Pujols and the St. Louis Cardinals.

Pujols has won the last two NL MVPs, and could be in line to win another with a .309 average, league-leading 37 homers and 102 RBIs - the 10th straight season in which he's driven in at least 100.

The slugger is 10 for 23 with a homer in his career against Hudson (15-7, 2.41 ERA). He's also got plenty of admiration for the pitcher who is posting the lowest ERA of his career.

"He's a veteran guy who knows how to pitch and keep the ball down," Pujols said. "He has a pretty good chance to win the Cy Young."

Hudson's success has come two years after elbow ligament replacement surgery. He's two innings shy of reaching 200 for the seventh time in his career, and is 10-4 with a 1.97 ERA in 15 home outings.

"I never dreamed," Hudson said, "I'd be able to do what I've done this year."

The right-hander is trying to bounce back from consecutive losses. He yielded four runs over 6 1-3 innings Tuesday in a 5-0 loss at Pittsburgh.

Hudson is 3-2 with a 4.96 ERA in eight career starts against the Cardinals.

"We wouldn't be where we are today if Huddy hadn't gone out and pitched like he has," closer Billy Wagner said. "He's the MVP of our team. He's the Cy Young."

The Braves (82-61) moved back into a tie for first in the NL East with Philadelphia after Alex Gonzalez hit a three-run homer in the 12th inning of a 6-3 win Saturday.

"He crushed that ball," Braves manager Bobby Cox said. "He had a few chances today and he didn't get it done, but boy he did in that inning."

Martin Prado added two hits for Atlanta, and is 5 for 13 with five runs in this series.

St. Louis (73-67) has dropped 13 of 18 to diminish its hopes of catching NL Central leader Cincinnati.

Saturday marked the first time in that 18-game stretch that Pujols had more than one RBI in a game. He drove in three after totaling seven over the previous 17 games.

Kyle Lohse (2-7, 7.13) will try to avoid his third straight loss for St. Louis. Lohse allowed four runs over five innings in Tuesday's 4-2 loss at Milwaukee.

In four starts since returning from the disabled list, the right-hander is 1-3 with a 10.31 ERA. Lohse is 2-1 with a 4.78 ERA in eight outings against Atlanta.

Braves first baseman Derrek Lee is 9 for 29 against Lohse. Lee has hit safely in his last nine games versus the Cardinals, going 13 for 34 with five homers and nine runs scored.