Red-hot Cards rout cold Cubs, 8-2

ST. LOUIS — Albert Pujols hit his second grand slam of the season and surpassed 1,000 career runs batted in, sending St. Louis to an 8-2 victory over the Chicago Cubs on Saturday and giving the surging Cardinals their ninth straight home win.

The Cardinals have won 10 of 12 at home this season and are 13-5 overall, good for first place in the NL Central. The Cubs (8-8) have lost four in a row.

Pujols drove the first pitch from David Patton in the seventh inning for his eighth career grand slam. He is hitting .348 with 25 RBIs and seven homers already this season.

The four RBIs gave Pujols 1,002 in his career, making him the sixth Cardinals player to reach that milestone. The others are Stan Musial, Enos Slaughter, Jim Bottomley, Rogers Hornsby and Kenny Boyer.