The St. Louis Cardinals retained their National League Central 1.5 game lead over the persistent Milwaukee Brewers with a weekend sweep of the Kansas City Royals. Sunday’s rout marked Manager Tony LaRussa’s landmark 2500th win and marked another spectacular hitting display by the game’s best batsman, Albert Pujols.

The 12-5 win at Kaufman Stadium in Kansas City put LaRussa in some pretty exclusive company. The savvy manager joins legends Connie Mack and John McGraw as the only managers to win 2500 games or more. His 2500-2177 won-lost record trails Mack (3731-3948) but leaves him just 263 games behind McGraw (2763-1948). The way the Cardinals are playing, LaRussa could pass McGraw in two more years.

And, the way the Cardinals are winning is very connected to the way their superstar Pujols is hitting. The way Pujols is hitting puts him on track to have another remarkable season. Hitting .329 with 68 RBI’s and 26 homeruns, the perennial all-star first baseman is building a signature year for an already impressive resume. In baseball today, there is no better batsman.

The Cardinals do not typify 21st century baseball. Their pitching staff is mediocre, the relief pitching adequate and if Pujols were not in the lineup, they would not feature one .300 hitter. Yes, LaRussa is an outstanding manager and every game he is challenged to out-strategize managers with superior pitching and superior overall hitting. However, Pujols makes up for a lot of deficiencies.

On Sunday, Pujols went 4-5, hit two homeruns and with the help of his 3rd grand slam this year, drove in six runs. Amazing, truly amazing!

Pujols has family and friends in the Kansas City area. The Royals may want to consider relocating them. In his career, Pujols has hit 12 homeruns in 27 Kaufman Stadium games. This weekend he swatted three homeruns and drove in 10 runs.

Pujols has now hit 9 career grand slams, tying him with the legendary Stan Musial for the franchise record. As LaRussa said, “He does it over and over again. And, it’s just impossible to describe how great he is. But, when he does something like this, this is really great. It was the difference. His production is the difference in the game.”

The Cardinals were actually trailing the improved Royals 3-4 entering the decisive 4th inning. The Cardinals sent 13 men to the plate. With the bases loaded, Pujols uncorked an astonishing blast that struck the windows in the Royals Hall of Fame Building in left field 423 feet away. Game over!

For good measure, Pujols belted a solo blast in the fifth. C’mon. Are you kidding?