St. Louis, MO (Sports Network) – Jake Westbrook tossed six solid innings to pick up his first win in a St. Louis uniform, as the Cardinals took down the Chicago Cubs, 6-3, in the opener of a three-game set at Busch Stadium.
Westbrook (1-0), making his third start with the Cardinals, gave up two runs on six hits to record his first win since July 16 when he was a member of the Indians. Ryan Franklin picked up his 21st save of the year.
Albert Pujols went 3-for-5 with a solo homer and scored three times for St. Louis, which has won four in a row and remains one game ahead of Cincinnati in the NL Central standings. Yadier Molina had two RBI.
Chicago starter Thomas Diamond (0-3), making his third career start in the majors, got rocked in four frames, giving up four runs on six hits. He also walked four batters and fanned two.
Derrek Lee, who was reinstated from the bereavement list prior to the game, hit a solo homer for the Cubs, who have dropped three straight and are a woeful 2-14 since July 27. Marlon Byrd drove in two runs in defeat.