ST. LOUIS (Ticker) -- With one swing of the bat, Albert Pujols put to rest any concerns there may have been regarding the St. Louis Cardinals' ability to put behind them a final-week malaise.

Pujols hit one of the Cardinals' five home runs as St. Louis battered Odalis Perez and posted an 8-3 triumph over the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game One of their National League Division Series.

Larry Walker (twice), Jim Edmonds and Mike Matheny also homered for the Cardinals, who tied the National League record for home runs in a postseason game. The Chicago Cubs hit five home runs in Game One of the 1984 NL Championship Series against the San Diego Padres .

But it was Pujols' solo blast in the first inning that eased concerns that the Cardinals could shake off a lackluster final week in which they went 2-5 and looked listless. With the best record in the NL already secured, St. Louis paced itself during the season's final seven days but repeatedly was asked Monday about its ability to gear up for a Los Angeles squad riding an emotional wave.

With the Dodgers starting Perez, a talented lefthander who had held opponents to three earned runs or less in 26 of 31 regular-season starts, St. Louis had to be fearful of a sluggish start. But in front of a raucous crowd determined to rally the home team, Pujols crushed a home run to center in the first inning and the rout was on.

"I just put a good swing on the ball," Pujols said. "I knew I had a pretty good chance for it to go out of the park. I'm glad we took that lead right away."

"He's the catalyst of this ballclub," Cardinals left fielder Reggie Sanders said of Pujols. "He started off with a bang and everybody started from there."

Sanders was one of the many Cardinals to address the issue of potentially coming in flat.

"We had no concerns," he said. "The media hyped it up more than anything. We knew what we were doing, resting guys and getting guys back into a somewhat in a physical good shape. We have a strong ballclub.

"I don't think we ever lost the intensity, it probably looked like we did. We as a team, we knew what we were capable of doing. We're a solid team all around. I don't see us as losing the edge as everyone said."

Perez (0-1) got through the second but fell apart in the third. After retiring the first two batters, Walker hit a homer to right. Pujols singled, Scott Rolen walked and Edgar Renteria made it 4-0 with a two-run double. Edmonds then capped the five-run frame with a homer to right that scored Renteria.

The onslaught continued in the fourth as the light-hitting Matheny homered off Elmer Dessens .

The Dodgers finally got on the board against St. Louis starter Woody Williams in the fifth on an RBI double by Jayson Werth and added another run in the sixth.

Walker, making his first postseason appearance since 1995, made it 8-2 with a long homer to right off Giovanni Carrara .

"We have been struggling for a while," Walker said. "Deep down inside we knew once we took the field and saw the atmosphere we'd get revved up again for it. We don't expect to go out there and hit five home runs a game."

Williams (1-0) pitched well with the lead, allowing two runs and eight hits in six innings. He walked one, struck out two and improved to 2-1 in three career postseason appearances.

"It was nice getting those five runs early, it helped me relax and settle in a little bit," Williams said. "Anytime you get runs like that early on in the game makes it easier on the pitcher."

Kiki Calero and Ray King worked a perfect inning apiece before closer Jason Isringhausen allowed a two-out solo homer to Tom Wilson in the ninth.

Perez, making his first career postseason start, surrendered six runs and five hits in 2 2/3 innings.

"I didn't perform the way I was supposed to perform," Perez said. "When you go out and put your team in a situation where in the third inning your already down by six runs. It's my fault. I did not do my best. I went out and gave my best but it didn't happen."

"We got down a couple of runs early and they kept adding on, adding on, adding on," said Los Angeles right fielder Milton Bradley , who returned to the lineup after being suspended for five games. "It kind of knocks you down. It wears on you, you just have to keep fighting."

Game Two is Thursday with the Cardinals sending righthander Jason Marquis to the mound. Los Angeles counters with righthander Jeff Weaver .

"It's just one game, we need to control (the Cards offense) a little better," Dodgers third baseman Adrian Beltre said. "We can come back. We know it's going to be tough to beat these guys. Everybody knows they're probably the best team in baseball."

"We knew what we wanted to do was win one of two and take it back to L.A.," Perez said. "We still have that opportunity on Thursday. We just didn't have it today. We didn't score, we really didn't do anything very well."