It's not the full-blown renaissance his fantasy owners and St. Louis Cardinals fans everywhere are hoping for, but Albert Pujols put together a solid performance in the second and final game of the team's home mini-series against the Philadelphia Phillies. Pujols picked up three hits—two line drives and something of a texas leaguer over the infield in the ninth inning—and nearly hit a home run in the process, which would have been his first of the month.
In the fifth inning, against former Astros foil Roy Oswalt, Pujols pulled a ball just to the wrong side of the foul pole and into the stands, missing a line drive home run. Suspecting the worst, Busch Stadium erupted when he took the fifth pitch of the at-bat nearly as far to the opposite field, bouncing one into the stands for a ground-rule double.
Pujols still just has three doubles to show for his May output, although his batting average for the month has climbed over .300. On the season he's hitting .269/.339/.419, with seven home runs and 24 RBI.