Our boy Albert Pujols went 1-4 to lower his season average to .348.

The same two teams will square off again this evening.

Jake Peavy will pitch for the Padres. He is 7-5 with a 2.47. He is 3-2 with a 2.89 era in his career against the Cardinals.

Kyle Lohse throws for the Cardinals, and he is 11-2 with a 3.39 era. Lohse is 0-2 with a 7.04 era in 3 career starts against San Diego.

Albert Pujols has faced Peavy 17 times in his career. Albert is 6-17 for a .353 batting average. In those six hits 1 was a double, and 2 were homeruns, with 6rbi’s. Pujols has struck out six times, while walking three times against Peavy.

Good luck to Albert and the Cardinals tonight!

Albert has never faced Cliff Lee in his career…

NL

1. Ramirez, SS- Florida
2. Utley, 2B- Philadelphia
3. Berkman, 1B- Houston
4. Pujols, DH- St. Louis
5. Jones, 3B- Atlanta
6. Holliday- RF- Colorado
7. Braun- LF- Milwaukee
8. Fukudome- CF- Chicago
9. Soto- C- Chicago

AL:

1. Ichiro- RF- Seattle
2. Jeter- SS- New York
3. Hamilton- CF- Texas
4. Rodriguez- 3B- New York
5. Ramirez- LF
6. Bradley- DH- Texas
7. Youkilis- 1B- Boston
8. Mauer- C- Minnesota
9. Pedroira- 2B- Boston

For the NL, Ben Sheets will be on the mound. For the AL, Cliff Lee will make the first pitch.

It was undoubtedly a challenge to rebound so quickly from Saturday night’s disastrous loss, the worst of the season. Sunday, the Cardinals didn’t always play well. They had to overcome turmoil. But they battled through and prevailed 11-6 despite blowing two leads.

The Cardinals salvaged a 3-3 record on the Pennsylvania trip. They made sure that they’d go into the break with a 53-43 record, or 10 games over .500. They gained ground on the first-place Cubs, and trail by 4 1/2 games. They warded off Milwaukee in the wild-card standings and lead the Brewers by a half-game.

Manager Tony La Russa has said often this season, probably because it’s so true: He doesn’t know if his team will be good enough to make it to the postseason, but he’s convinced that it’s tough enough.

This team has problems.

The bullpen has frequently imploded. The relievers have been shredded for the most blown saves (22) in the majors and have the second-highest loss total (20).

Because of injury issues — and more on that later — nine pitchers have started games.

Partly because of shortages, rookie Cardinals pitchers have been called upon to make 91 appearances, and start seven games.

The St. Louis offense is streaky. Its on-base percentage has suffered a 21-point drop since May 20, going from .371 to .350. The slugging percentage is rising, and that’s good, except for the increasing dependence on homers to supply runs.

It is an offense that scores 5.2 runs a game on the road but only 4.1 a game at Busch Stadium, which wasn’t much of a firewall in the late stages of the first half. The Cardinals have lost seven of their last 10 at Busch and must reverse that trend.
The Cardinals are 31-31 since May 7, and their competitors have taken advantage. The Cubs are 15 games over .500 since May 9, and the Brewers are 13 games over .500 since May 20.

And unlike the Cardinals, the Cubs (Rich Harden) and Brewers (CC Sabathia) have reinforced their rosters.

Now, let’s rewind, back to March.

How many among us would have honestly predicted that the Cardinals would be 10 games over .500 at the break and possess the NL’s second-best record?

Or that the Cardinals could make these advances despite having to put 17 players on the disabled list, including team MVP Albert Pujols, No. 1 starter Adam Wainwright and all-time franchise saves leader Jason Isringhausen?

The rehabbing former Cy Young award winner, Chris Carpenter, hasn’t thrown a pitch. Offseason signee Matt Clement (shoulder) hasn’t surfaced because of decreased velocity. Mark Mulder sadly unraveled again.

And yet the Cardinals have defied the adversity and the forecasts to grind their way into postseason contention. And this was supposed to be a season of rebuilding, retooling, revamping, etc.

Why?

Several reasons, in no particular order:

1. Pitching coach Dave Duncan’s rotation has surprisingly held up for a 40-23 record and a 4.13 ERA. Year after year, Duncan squeezes terrific results from makeshift rotations.

2. Kyle Lohse, who hasn’t lost since May 8, is 11-2 with a 3.39 ERA.

3. Breakout power seasons from Ryan Ludwick and Rick Ankiel, who have combined for 41 homers and 115 RBIs. Last season Cardinals outfielders produced 68 homers in 162 games. This year, through 96 games, the outfielders already have launched 53 homers.

4. Third baseman Troy Glaus has 15 homers and 59 RBIs in 94 games played. Last season the Cardinals received only 12 homers and 77 RBIs from seven players who manned the third-base position over 162 games.

5. Dramatically improved defense.

Don’t forget Aaron Miles, batting .317. Or Skip Schumaker, who has done a fine job as a leadoff man and is hitting .339 against righthanded pitching. Or catcher Yadier Molina’s impressive development as a hitter; he’s batting .339 since April 23.

Of course, La Russa is the fixed axis. All things Cardinal revolve around him. He gives this team its toughness, its personality.

At the break, the Cardinals should exhale and take a bow.

And then it’s back to work.

Keeping this up over the final 66 games will be a tremendous challenge.

Kyle Lohse will pitch tonight for the Cardinals. A few months ago the Mets could have signed Lohse for the same deal the Cardinals got him at in March, but Mets GM Omar M. turned down the deal, sighting he felt that was too much for Lohse. Lohse would love to stick it to him and the Mets, like he has the rest of the NL so far this season. Kyle is 9-2 with a 3.94 era so far this season. Lohse has not lost a game since May 8th, where he pitched 4 innings in Colorado. He took a no decision his last time out against Detroit, but before that won his last 6 starts.

John Maine is on the mound for the Mets. Maine has been solid once again with a 8-5 record, and a 3.73 era. Maine has won his last two starts going 6+ innings in each. In his last ten starts, Maine is 5-3. He has pitched well against the Cardinals in his career, making two starts and going 1-0.

The Man, El Hombre, Albert Pujols is 2-6, with 2 homeruns, and 7 rbis in his career off John Maine.

We look for more mash city tonight in St. Louis. The Cardinals are hot, and are ready to have a huge home stand. Go El Hombre! Go Cardinals!

He came back Thursday in Detroit, and promptly went 4-4, a walk, and a RBI. The RBI was the go ahead RBI in the 9th until the Cardinal bullpen blew his chance.

On Friday in Kansas City, Albert may not have had his best, going 0-2, but the Royal pitchers still walked him twice. Okay, 4-6 since his return.

On Saturday, Albert went a quiet 1-4, but was smoking the baseball. Okay, 5-10 since his return from the DL, and on base in every game.

Sunday, Albert showed he still had some pop. He crushed a homerun in the 6th and almost hit one again later, in the 8th. Albert ended the day 2-4, with a double, and a homerun, driving home two runs, and scoring twice.. Okay 7-14, since his return.

Except Albert to stay hot. As the Mets and the Cubs come to town the Cardinals are only 2.5 games out of first place. Albert smells another opportunity at postseason, and when he gets that smell- LOOK OUT!

Try to dissect Albert Pujols’ freakish ability to heal from injuries like a superhero, and the issue turns into baseball’s version of intelligent design, a God-vs.-Science debate that even Pujols can’t quite figure out.

First, he defers to the man upstairs. When challenged to put any of his accomplishments into context – say, returning from a calf injury a couple weeks ahead of schedule, then going 4 for 4 in his first game back Thursday and adding a monster home run Sunday in the St. Louis Cardinals’ 9-6 victory – Pujols falls back on faith.

“I give all the credit to God because he puts me on the field,” he said. “God is the only one who knows how quickly I heal.”

Except when Pujols is reminded of how hard he works. Now, there are some players for whom recovering from an injury is a task so Sisyphean, they end up getting crushed beneath the boulder. See: Pavano, Carl; Johnson, Nick; Sweeney, Mike; and other such denizens of the disabled list.

In his eight-year career, Pujols has spent two stints on the DL, and the first was much like the recent: An injury expected to sideline him for up to six weeks took less than three to heal. And as much as he defers to otherworldly beings, Pujols also doesn’t want to shortchange himself.

“It’s not amazing,” he said. “I work hard for it. Why should I be surprised about it?”

Hey, Pujols is batting .356, getting on base at a .483 clip and swatting balls to every part of the field, so let the man have his cake and eat it. What Pujols has done, and continues to do, is play at a level stratospheric among his peers, unique in the purest sense of the word, joyous to partake in.

“He is an amazing player,” Cardinals manager Tony La Russa said. “You’re seeing it. Comes off the disabled list and gets four hits. That’s amazing. If you watch him on a daily basis, he does something good every day. He does some amazing things often.

“I never take him for granted. I don’t take greatness like that for granted. I enjoy it too much.”

Well, that and the production. The Cardinals worried that without Pujols, their surprising start would go for naught. Instead, at 47-36, they own the National League’s second-best record, behind Central Division rival Chicago, are one of only five teams with winning marks at home and on the road, and now get energized by the league’s most fearsome hitter.

All of which makes June 11 laughable in hindsight. The Cardinals’ clubhouse transformed into a wake that night, the mood somber, everyone recounting stories about the deceased: St. Louis’ season. Pujols pulled up lame running to first base, and panic set in. He left the stadium on crutches. A return before the All-Star break was optimistic.

Along the way, something happened. Pujols started to say he would be back soon. No one knew how or why. The Cardinals just trusted him, like recovering from injury was some sort of a skill Pujols had mastered.

“You ever see ‘Rudy’?” Cardinals trainer Barry Weinberg asked. “Rudy asks why he can’t get into Notre Dame. Remember what the priest told him? There are two facts in life. One, there’s a God. Two, I’m not him.”

In other words, Weinberg hasn’t the faintest clue. Nobody understands how Pujols continues to play at such an elite level with a high-grade tear of the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow, which, at some point or another, will require Tommy John surgery. They can’t fathom how he shook off his last disabling injury, one to the rib cage, an integral part of a hitter’s swing, as though it were a hangnail.

“I don’t think there’s some magic button or special potion he’s taking,” Cardinals general manager John Mozeliak said. “Albert loves to play the game of baseball. That’s where he gets his joy from. Regardless of whether we’re 15 (games) up or 15 down, in first place or last place, he just wants to play baseball.”

Such has been evident over recent days, when Pujols would retire to his sanctum, the batting cage, and work through the routine that has helped him hone his swing in the fashion Tiger Woods does his. Pujols is, as teammate Jason Isringhausen notes, “a maniac” with his workouts, and he means that in the most complimentary way.

So to see Pujols slash a double down the line in the first inning Sunday astounded no one, and to see Kansas City issue him his 19th intentional walk of the season in the third inning was no shock.

“I think anybody will take the way I’m swinging now,” Pujols said.

True enough, which is why the only flabbergasting moment of the afternoon came when Royals pitcher Joel Peralta actually believed he could throw a 3-2 fastball by Pujols in the sixth inning.

Pujols turned on the 93-mph pitch and sent it soaring into a stiff wind, and it kept going, long over the left-field fence. Nothing in this world was going to stop it, and nothing – neither God nor science – could explain how he did it, either.