Albert Pujols powers Cardinals to win over Brewers

St. Louis Cardinals Manager Tony La Russa has had many adjectives attached to his name and not all of them good.

And now comes “prophetic.”

Before Game 2 of the National League Championship Series on Monday night, La Russa talked about his struggling slugger, noting, “I think he could be the hitter star today, and nobody should be surprised.”

Albert Pujols was indeed the star, driving in five runs as the Cardinals crushed the Brewers, 12-3, evening their best-of-seven series at a game apiece.

The series resumes Wednesday in St. Louis, as the Brewers’ Yovani Gallardo goes against the Cardinals’ Chris Carpenter.

Predicting big numbers from Pujols isn’t exactly going out on a limb, even with the Cardinals’ big gun hitting no homers and driving in one run in his first six postseason games.

Pujols sent a Shaun Marcum pitch over the left-field fence for a 2-0 first-inning lead. He doubled home two more in the third and another in the fifth.

In his fourth at-bat, Pujols doubled again, although no one was on base. But he did score another run.

Could it have been his best and most important postseason game ever?

“It was just another game,” Pujols said. “I was just glad I was able to help this ballclub win.

“I don’t take this game for granted. I had the opportunity to help the ballclub. I didn’t come through [Sunday] and thank God I did [Monday]. This game is not easy. I’ve been in those situations before, just let the game come to you.”

So what do the Brewers do now that Pujols has found his stroke?

“The approach can’t really change,” Manager Ron Roenicke said about pitching to Pujols. “The problem is if you pitch around him, the next two guys [Matt Holliday and Lance Berkman] are among the top hitters in the league.

“And then after that, [David] Freese has hurt us, [Yadier] Molina has hurt us.”

Marcum, a key off-season acquisition for the Brewers, has struggled of late and Roenicke knows he will need better than what he saw Monday.

“We’re going to need Shaun to do well,” Roenicke said. “He’s going to pitch again in this series. And I need him to get out there and figure it out and get back to where he [was].”

Cardinals starter Edwin Jackson didn’t make it through the fifth inning for the victory, even though he entered it with a 7-2 lead.

Lance Lynn was credited with the win for getting out of the fifth with a double-play ball with the bases loaded.

“Lance made a great pitch,” Pujols said. “That was an inning that could have come out either way. If they score more, the game could have changed.”

As for that La Russa prediction? “He didn’t [say that] to me,” Pujols laughed. “Knowing Tony, he might say that again Wednesday, he’s so superstitious.”