Angels top Cardinals, 5-1, for seventh win in a row

The anti-Albert Pujols faction of the St. Louis fan base that stayed up late Tuesday night to root against the Angels slugger in his first game against the Cardinals went to bed happy. Pujols was hitless in three at-bats with two strikeouts.

The rest of the fans who care little about Pujols, who left St. Louis after a decorated 11-year career there to sign a 10-year, $240-million deal with the Angels before 2012? Not so much.

The Angels bunched six singles in a five-run second inning to back a superb seven-inning effort by ace Jered Weaver, and first baseman Mark Trumbo made a game-saving play in the eighth inning of a 5-1 victory over the Cardinals that extended the Angels’ win streak to seven.

BOX SCORE: Angels 5, St. Louis 1

Trailing, 5-1, St. Louis loaded the bases with no outs in the eighth when Yadier Molina, Carlos Beltran and Allen Craig singled off reliever Kevin Jepsen. Scott Downs came on to strike out Matt Adams, and David Freese followed with a one-hop smash that appeared headed to right field.

But Trumbo made a spectacular backhanded diving stab and scrambled to his feet to throw to second. Shortstop Erick Aybar relayed a strong throw to Downs covering first in time to complete an inning-ending double play.

“That ball was a rocket — to be able to turn a double play on it was impressive,” Manager Mike Scioscia said. “Mark got it started, and Erick made an equally tough turn and throw to hit a moving target in Downs. It was a terrific play.”

The play helped preserve the second win of the season for Weaver, who missed seven weeks of April and May because of a broken left elbow but appears to have hit his stride after opening with a 1-4 record and 4.65 earned-run average.

Weaver, a 20-game winner in 2012, turned a corner Thursday in Detroit, giving up one run and four hits in seven innings of a 3-1 win, and he was even better Tuesday night, yielding one run and seven hits, striking out five and walking none.

The right-hander’s fastball had a little more life, sitting in the 87-89-mph range and touching 91 mph, and he limited a Cardinals lineup with four of the National League’s top 10 hitters to a fourth-inning run on Freese’s RBI groundout.

“He got stronger as the game went on,” Scioscia said. “He threw some of his better fastballs in the later innings. It gives us some encouragement that he’s getting his stamina back. That’s the way Weav can pitch.”

Josh Hamilton and Howie Kendrick, who had three hits, sparked the second-inning rally with singles, and Trumbo, Alberto Callaspo, Aybar and J.B. Shuck added RBI singles. The final run scored on Mike Trout’s fielder’s choice grounder that second baseman Matt Carpenter booted.

All nine of the Angels’ hits were singles, none by Pujols, who reached base once on a fifth-inning walk.

“I think he was a little keyed up,” Scioscia said. “He has a lot of friends over there, he sees that uniform, and it has to be a strange for him. There was definitely some emotion on Albert’s part, but I don’t know that it affected what he was trying to do.”

Said Pujols: “It was fine. I swear. I’m being honest with you guys. It was a little weird, but it was fine. It would probably be a little different if it was in St. Louis.”

mike.digiovanna@latimes.com

Twitter: @MikeDiGiovanna