Boxscore

Albert Pujols somehow turned a typical ground-out into the go-ahead run for the Cardinals (21-12). Pujols was on second base when Rick Ankiel hit a ground-ball to second. I don’t know if it’s Tony LaRussa or Pujols who’s prescient, but by the time the Rockies (12-20) second baseman fielded the ball, Pujols was at third. He scored in a very close play at home.

That gave the vulture win to Randy Flores (1-0), who had earlier blown a Cardinals lead, and Jason Isringhausen (S 11) got the save. Brian Fuentes (0-2) got the loss.

Thanks to the Cubs loss, the Cardinals now have a 2.5 game lead in first. This game further illustrates my confusion about the Cardinals. Overall, they don’t look like a good team to me, yet they keep winning. And was the win today an example of a team being incredibly lucky with everything bouncing their way? Or the mark of a team that has everything together and one that could win the pennant? This month should shed some light on that, as the Cardinals play more road games.

The Cardinals go for the win tonight, sending out Braden Looper to face Mark Redman at 8:35pm EDT.