Pujols powers Cardinals past Pirates

ST. LOUIS (AP) -- Jeff Suppan made a strong argument Saturday night to remain in the St. Louis Cardinals' rotation.

Suppan pitched five-hit ball into the sixth inning for his first win since September, leading the Cardinals to an 11-1 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates .

Albert Pujols hit his 24th homer and finished with three hits as the NL Central-leading Cardinals improved to 11-5 since the All-Star break. They remained a half-game ahead of Cincinnati, which beat Atlanta 5-2.

St. Louis also strengthened its rotation before the game, acquiring Jake Westbrook from Cleveland in a three-team deal. Westbrook is expected to join the team Sunday and start Monday against Houston.

Suppan (1-6) struck out five in 5 1-3 scoreless innings but manager Tony La Russa was noncommittal about the right-hander's future.

" Nobody's guaranteed playing time,'' La Russa said. " When he first showed he had no guarantees. There was an opportunity. He got his first win but he's given us a chance to win in a whole bunch of games."

Suppan, who earned his first victory since Sept. 19 for Milwaukee, said the decision is out of his control.

" I feel like I'm throwing better now than when I first got here,'' said Suppan, who signed with St. Louis in June. " I feel good about that. I gave everything I could give."

Colby Rasmus hit a two-run homer and an RBI single for the Cardinals, who used five relievers to finish it out. It Rasmus' career-high 17th homer and first since June 27.

" I did feel pretty comfortable out there,'' Rasmus said. " I'm not trying to reach for the stars; just play the game like I could play it."

Jeff Clement homered in the eighth for Pittsburgh, which made a handful of trades before the non-waiver deadline during another difficult season. Jose Tabata went 3 for 4 to extend his hitting streak to 11 games.

The Pirates sent left-handed reliever Javier Lopez to San Francisco and closer Octavio Dotel to the Los Angeles Dodgers , gaining a total of six players whose rights they control for several years. They also acquired catcher Chris Snyder from the Arizona Diamondbacks in a five-player swap.

Pirates starter Daniel McCutchen (1-5) issued six walks while yielding four runs, three earned, and six hits in 5 2-3 innings.

" I thought he battled,'' manager John Russell said. " You could tell he was competing and getting after it. He didn't really have his best stuff. The last inning, we knew was a stretch and we tried to get him through it."

Clement and McCutchen were recalled from Triple-A Indianapolis earlier in the day.

St. Louis scored at least one run in six innings. Suppan hit an RBI single in the second, Rasmus scored on first baseman Garrett Jones ' throwing error in the fourth and Pujols connected in the fifth, hitting a 2-0 pitch into the bleachers in right-center to give him 72 RBIs.

Matt Holliday and Skip Schumaker had key hits in St. Louis' five-run eighth. Holliday had a two-run double and Schumaker drove in a pair with a single.

NOTES: Former Cardinals manager and 2010 Hall of Fame inductee Whitey Herzog was honored in a pregame ceremony in which his No. 24 was retired. ... Tabata is batting .373 (25 for 67) since the All-Star break.

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