Albert Pujols joined Babe Ruth and Reggie Jackson as the only players to hit three home runs in a World Series game as the St. Louis Cardinals routed the Texas Rangers 16-7 Saturday to take a 2-1 Series lead. Pujols, the three-time National League Most Valuable Player from the Dominican Republic, also matched a World Series record with six RBIs in a single game, set by Bobby Richardson in 1960 and Hideki Matsui in 2009. And he equaled a Series mark with five hits in a game, set by Paul Molitor in 1982. “It's an honor to be named in the same category as those guys,” said Pujols, who was 0 for 6 in the first two games. “Hopefully, at the end of my career, I can look back and say, ‘Wow, what a game it was in Game 3 in 2011,” he added. Pujols hit a long three-run homer off Alexi Ogando in the sixth that helped the Cardinals open a 12-6 lead. He added a two-run drive off Michael Gonzalez in the seventh and a solo shot off Darren Oliver with two outs in the ninth. Babe Ruth hit three homers in a World Series game in 1926 and again in 1928. Reggie Jackson matched the feat in 1977. For the Cardinals, it was the highest-scoring game in the team's postseason history. And they head into Game 4 with momentum: 36 of 54 teams that have won Game 3 to take a 2-1 Series lead have won the title, including 10 of the last 11. After two taut games in St. Louis, this suddenly turned into a messy slugfest. The fourth and fifth innings alone took 1 hour, 22 minutes to play and the game itself lasted for more than four hours. Texas fans booed after first base umpire Ron Kulpa's blown call helped the Cardinals score four times in the fourth for a 5-0 lead. But Texas came back, closing to 5-3 in the bottom of the fourth. St. Louis then opened an 8-3 lead in the fifth, but the Rangers got to 8-6 in the bottom of the inning and had the bases loaded when Ian Kinsler hit an inning-ending popup. Pujols followed in the sixth with his first homer – a 423-foot shot that rattled the windows of the club level in left field – and the Rangers could get no closer the rest of the game. The teams combined for 23 runs and 28 hits for the night. In St. Louis, they combined for eight runs and 23 hits in two games. Allen Craig also homered for St. Louis and Yadier Molina drove in four runs. Adrian Beltre had four hits and drove in four runs for Texas. Josh Hamilton, the reigning American League Most Valuable Player, went 1 for 4 and dropped to 1 for 11 in the Series, although he stopped an 0-for-18 Series streak dating to last year with a fifth-inning single.
