Pujols and Cardinals hottest when they help most

Pujols, who is playing the final season of a career that will most likely end in the Cooperstown Hall of Fame, hit five home runs in his last seven games and is batting .450 with seven homers and 16 RBIs in the past 15 to continue his climb up the major league all-time leaders and, in the process, push the Cardinals into the playoffs.

In his 22nd season, Pujols, 42, is batting .273 with 13 homers and 37 RBIs in 198 innings. Used primarily as an occasional player against left-handed pitchers, Pujols is batting .388 with nine home runs in 85 innings against them. Overall, over the last 28 games he is averaging a .408 OBP and 1.288 OPS.

He now has 3,355 hits (#10), 692 home runs (#5), 681 doubles (#5), 1,389 extra-base hits (#3), 2,187 RBIs (#3) and 1,897 runs scored (#12).

St. Louis (69-51) enters the final full week of August with a seven-game winning streak and its largest lead (5.0 games) over the Milwaukee Brewers in the division. The team led by Dominican Oliver Marmol has dominated its opponents (30-17) and, as almost always, has effectively defended its home turf, posting a 40-21 record at Busch Stadium.

The Cardinals, who were 4.5 games out of first place on May 26 and then had their worst month of the year in July (11-13), have won 15 of 18 games in August and are 19-7 since the All-Star break.

The Redbirds are seeking their 16th divisional title and #32 postseason appearance, which would be their fourth in a row. St. Louis (11) and the New York Yankees (27) are the only major league clubs with double figures in World Series championships.

St. Louis begins the week with a four-day visit to their fiercest rivals, the Chicago Cubs, before returning home to host the defending champions, the Atlanta Braves. The Cardinals will finish the penultimate month of the season schedule by facing the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park.

In September and the first week of October, St. Louis will face Chicago, Washington Nationals, Pittsburgh Pirates (six times in two series), Brewers (four times in two series), Reds, San Diego Padres and Los Angeles Dodgers.

One unfinished business for the Cardinals this season is how they have fared against teams with positive records. Marmol’s troupe has a 24-28 record against .500 or better opponents.