CINCINNATI(AP) -- Albert Pujols appreciates history. He just
doesn't let it overshadow what he considers important.

Pujols hit his club-record fourth grand slam of the season and
10th of his career, and Jarrett Hoffpauir drove in the go-ahead
runs in the ninth inning with his first career hit as the St.
Louis Cardinals beat the Cincinnati Reds 7-4 on Friday night.

Pujols snapped a tie with Hall of Famer Stan Musial for St.
Louis' career grand-slam record, and topped the single-season
mark he shared with Jim Bottomley, Keith Hernandez and Fernando
Tatis.

The homer also was the 350th of Pujols' career, making him at 29
years, 168 days old the third-youngest player in major league
history to reach that mark. Only Alex Rodriguez (28 years, 282
days) and Ken Griffey Jr. (28 years, 308 days) were younger -
not that Pujols was particularly impressed.

"I don't want to talk about that," Pujols said. "You should talk
about Hoffy and (Skip Schumaker) getting on base. That's the
whole point of the game. We put some good at-bats together. I
never think the game is over until there are 27 outs."

Hoffpauir, playing his first major league game after being
recalled Wednesday from Triple-A Memphis, capitalized on
shortstop Paul Janish's two-out error with a bases-loaded single
off Daniel Ray Herrera (1-4) to snap a 4-4 tie.

The win gave the Cardinals sole possession of first place in the
NL Central, a game ahead of Milwaukee.

Pujols gave the Cardinals a 4-3 lead in the eighth with his
grand-slam, but the Reds tied it on Ramon Hernandez's sacrifice
fly in the bottom of the inning.

Pujols, who leads the majors with 31 home runs and 82 RBIs,
added a run-scoring double in the ninth to give him five RBI in
the game.

"The main defense against Albert is to try to not put guys on
base in front of him," Reds manager Dusty Baker said. "He's a
one-man wrecking crew."

Jason Motte (3-2) got two outs in the eighth for the win. Ryan
Franklin allowed a hit and a two walks in the ninth before
striking out Brandon Phillips for his 20th save in 21
opportunities.

The Cardinals were losing 3-0 in the eighth inning when
Hoffpauir, pinch-hitting in his first career plate appearance,
walked to load the bases with one out.

"I was just trying to get on base," Hoffpauir said. "We had the
best hitter in baseball coming up. You're nervous in the on-deck
circle, but you tell yourself to settle down and that you've
done this before - just not at this level."

Manager Tony La Russa was impressed with the rookie's patience.

"We had some great at-bats in the eighth inning," he said. "That
was what we needed to get Albert up there."

Right-hander David Weathers was brought in to face Pujols, who
took a strike and two balls and popped one foul that fell in the
camera area at the outfield-end of the first-base dugout, just
out of the reach of first baseman Joey Votto.

"I was just trying to stay away from the double play," Pujols
said. "He got a fastball up, and I had my best swing of the
night."

Weathers realized that many believe Pujols should be pitched
around and maybe even walked in that situation.

"Then you've got the tying run on second base," he said. "I did
what I wanted to do. I was trying to throw a fastball down and
away, but I got it up a little bit. He pulled an outside pitch.
I was hoping it would just be a double, but he's so strong."

Reds relievers hadn't allowed a run in 16 2-3 innings over five
games before Pujols' homer.

The home run wasted a solid pitching effort by Homer Bailey, who
allowed just three hits and two runs in a career-high 7 1-3
innings. Bailey also had five strikeouts while issuing just two
walks after allowing a career-high seven last Saturday in
Cincinnati's 7-3 win at Cleveland. The sellout crowd of 41,349
gave him a standing ovation as he walked to the dugout after
giving up a a hit and a walk while getting one out in the
eighth.

Joel Pineiro, who went 1-4 in June while the Cardinals scored a
total of 11 runs in his five starts, allowed eight hits and
three runs with one strikeout in seven innings. He didn't walk a
batter.

NOTES: The Reds activated third baseman Edwin Encarnacion from
the 60-day disabled list before Friday's game. Encarnacion had
been out since April 28 with a chip fracture of his left wrist.
He didn't start, but entered in a double switch in the ninth and
doubled. ... IF Danny Richar was placed on 15-day disabled list
with a torn labrum in his left shoulder, and IF Wilkin Castillo
was moved from the 15-day disabled list to the 60-day list. ...
IF-OF Mark DeRosa remained available to just play defense or run
while dealing with the left wrist he injured Tuesday. ... The
sellout crowd was Cincinnati's fifth this season.