Smoltz Dominates Awful Padres, Pujols Jacks His 40th, Cards win 5-2

Do you think John Smoltz was a good pick up? Well, at least against the San Diego Padres, who have scored the least amount of runs in the majors, but Smoltz was impressive, striking out 9 batters and 7 in a row to lead the Cardinals (72-54) to a 5-2 win over the Padres. The Cards, who won three out of four against the lowly Pads, have now won their last 5 series, and 13 out of their last 16 games. The Cardinals won the season series agianst the Padres 6 to 1.

The Cardinals maintain their 8 game lead over the Chicago Cubs (62-60) who beat the LA Dodgers 3-1 at Dodger Stadium.

In his bid for a triple crown, Albert Pujols hit his 40th homer of the season to lead off the 4th inning agianst Padres reliever Edward Mujica.

Although John Smoltz only went 5 innings, the Cardinals held a 5-0 lead when Smoltz left and five relievers were able to keep the lead and the Cardinals won 5-2. Ryan Franklin picked up his 32nd save.