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Pujols Set to Return for Cardinals
By MoonDog | June 24, 2008
Initially projected to miss a minimum three weeks with a left calf strain, first baseman Albert Pujols is now expected to be activated from the disabled list when first eligible Thursday.
The All-Star worked out prior to the Cardinals game Tuesday in Detroit, taking batting practice and running the bases.
Cardinals manager Tony La Russa said the decision will be made after Pujols goes through more workouts in Detroit.
Perhaps the good news inspired the Cards’. Behind the solid play of Brian Barton, Skip Schumaker and Brendan Ryan, St. Louis banged out 14 hits en route to an 8-4 win over Detroit on Tuesday night.
Braden Looper (9-5) gave up four runs - all on long balls - in six-plus innings. Looper actually pitched much better than his line would indicate.
“I felt like I was pitching as well as I have this year, especially against that lineup,” Looper said.
Kenny Rogers (5-5) was touched up for five runs in 5 1/3 innings, having trouble locating his pitches and walking consecutive batters in the fourth.
“I wasn’t unhappy until the sixth,” he said.
St. Louis broke the game open with three runs in both the sixth and seventh innings to go ahead 8-2 after Barton tied the game with a solo homer in the fifth.
Schumaker, pinch-hitting for Barton in the sixth, hit a two-run single and Ryan added to the lead with a two-run double in the seventh.
St. Louis won in Detroit during the regular season for the first time since 2001. The Cardinals were swept by the Tigers in the previous two interleague series. The teams have a rich history, having played most recently in the 2006 World Series, won by St. Louis.
“It’s great to get a win anywhere,” La Russa said. “But this has been a tough place for us to play.”
St. Louis’ Adam Kennedy played first base for the first time in his career, which started in 1999, and he had to borrow a glove for the night. Kennedy made a nice stab of a hard grounder off the bat of Detroit’s Ivan Rodriguez to end the game.
Kyle Lohse (9-2, 3.63 ERA) is expected to take the mound for St. Louis while the Tigers will send Armando Galarraga (7-2, 3.03 ERA) to the hill.
In Other Cardinals News
Cardinals left-hander Mark Mulder is scheduled to be evaluated Wednesday in Detroit after being scratched from an injury rehabilitation start on Monday night with Triple-A Memphis.



























