St. Louis, MO (My Sportsbook) - Albert Pujols went 3-for-4 with a pair of homers, three runs batted in and four runs scored, leading the St. Louis Cardinals to a 12-8 victory over the New York Mets and a sweep of the three- game series at Busch Stadium.

Rick Ankiel added three hits with a homer and two runs batted in, while Ryan Ludwick and Skip Schumaker each drove in two runs for the Cardinals, who have won seven in a row at home and swept the Mets at Busch for the first time since August 6-8, 2004.

"We just want to win a series, but taking three games against a great lineup and pitching, it's tough," said Pujols. "You just try to get as many wins as you can. We're going to flip that page and come back tomorrow and start a great series against a rival - Chicago."

Kyle Lohse (3-0) went the first five innings to pick up the win and added an RBI single. He gave up two runs -- one earned -- on eight hits with a walk and one strikeout.

Livan Hernandez (1-1) took the loss for the Mets after being roughed up for seven runs on nine hits and one walk in 4 1/3 innings. New York has lost four in a row and the starters' ERA in that span is a lofty 8.27.

"We have to address our starting pitching," said Mets manager Jerry Manuel. "You can't compete if you have that type of starting pitching. I believe offensively we're going to be OK. I'm just somewhat concerned about the starting pitching. If we continue with this, we might have to bring in an extra [reliever]."

Carlos Beltran went 3-for-5 with a homer, a double and three runs batted in. He was moved up from fifth in the batting order to third, swapping spots with David Wright, and is now batting .404.

The Cardinals took the lead for good in the fourth with three runs. Pujols led off with a single and stole second base before chugging home on a double by Ankiel, who raced home on a two-out single by Brendan Ryan. After Jason LaRue singled to put runners on the corners, Lohse added an RBI single for a 4-1 lead.

An error by Pujols to start the top of the fifth led to a New York run. Jose Reyes reached on the misplay and singles by Alex Cora and Carlos Delgado loaded the bases with one out. David Wright singled home a run, but Gary Sheffield grounded into an inning-ending double play.

St. Louis responded with three more in the bottom of the inning on a two-run blast by Pujols and a solo shot by Ankiel to make it 7-2.

Again the Mets got one back with the help of a St. Louis miscue. Ryan Church reached second on an error by Ludwick in right field, took third on a grounder and scored on a two-out single by Reyes.

The Cardinals, though, opened some breathing room with four runs in the bottom of the sixth. LaRue singled, took second on a bunt and scored on a double by Schumaker. Colby Rasmus followed with another RBI double and Pujols was walked intentionally. The runners advanced on a wild pitch by Sean Green and both scored on a single by Ludwick for an 11-3 cushion.

After Church's two-run homer in the top of the seventh, Schumaker's RBI double in the bottom of the inning made it a 12-5 game. Beltran's three-run blast in the eighth pulled the Mets within four and accounted for the final margin.

Cardinals manager Tony La Russa used four pitchers to record the final five outs.

The teams traded runs in the first inning. Cora doubled with one out in the top of the first and took third on a single by Beltran. Lohse tried a fake to third and throw to first move, but was called for a balk to force in a run. Pujols got that run back quickly in the home half with his first homer of the game.

New York threatened with two outs in the third, as Beltran doubled and Delgado walked, but Wright lined out to right field.

Game Notes

Pujols, who was 6-for-11 in the series, notched his 25th career multi-homer game and second this season. He is two runs batted in shy of 1,000 for his career...Beltran is 12-for-24 in his last six games and is one RBI shy of 1,000 in his career. He has reached base safely in all 15 games this season and in 20 straight dating back to last year...Reyes was 1-for-5 and has a nine-game hitting streak. He now has 940 career hits, surpassing Keith Hernandez for sole possession of 10th on the club's all-time list...Livan Hernandez fell to 5-6 in 17 career starts against St. Louis...The Mets head home to open a three-game series with Washington...The Cardinals welcome the Cubs to Busch for three games this weekend.