CINCINNATI — Albert Pujols appreciates history. He just doesn't let it overshadow what he considers important.

Pujols hit his club-record fourth grand slam of the season and 10th of his career, and Jarrett Hoffpauir drove in the go-ahead runs in the ninth inning with his first career hit as the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Cincinnati Reds, 7-4, last night.

Pujols snapped a tie with Hall of Famer Stan Musial for St. Louis' career grand-slam record, and topped the single-season mark he shared with Jim Bottomley, Keith Hernandez and Fernando Tatis.

The homer also was the 350th of Pujols' career, making him at 29 years, 168 days old the third-youngest player in major league history to reach that mark. Only Alex Rodriguez (28 years, 282 days) and Ken Griffey Jr. (28 years, 308 days) were younger — not that Pujols was particularly impressed.

"I don't want to talk about that," Pujols said. "You should talk about Hoffy and (Skip Schumaker) getting on base. That's the whole point of the game. We put some good at-bats together. I never think the game is over until there are 27 outs."

Hoffpauir, playing his first major league game after being recalled Wednesday from Triple-A Memphis, capitalized on shortstop Paul Janish's two-out error with a bases-loaded single off Daniel Ray Herrera (1-4) to snap a 4-4 tie.

The win gave the Cardinals sole possession of first place in the NL Central, a game ahead of Milwaukee.

Pujols gave the Cardinals a 4-3 lead in the eighth with his grand slam, but the Reds tied it on Ramon Hernandez's sacrifice fly in the bottom of the inning.

Pujols, who leads the majors with 31 home runs and 82 RBIs, added a run-scoring double in the ninth to give him five RBI in the game.

"The main defense against Albert is to try to not put guys on base in front of him," Reds manager Dusty Baker said. "He's a one-man wrecking crew."

Jason Motte (3-2) got two outs in the eighth for the win. Ryan Franklin allowed a hit and a two walks in the ninth before striking out Brandon Phillips for his 20th save in 21 opportunities.

PHILLIES 7, METS 2

Rodrigo Lopez (1-0) allowed two runs and six hits in 6 1/3 innings and Maui's Shane Victorino went 3-for-5 with a triple and two runs scored, helping Philadelphia beat New York to snap a six-game home losing streak.

CUBS 2, BREWERS 1

Jake Fox fouled off four consecutive pitches before walking on a close 3-2 pitch off Mike DiFelice (4-1), scoring Craig Council with two outs in the bottom of the 10th inning to lift Chicago over Milwaukee.

PIRATES 7, MARLINS 4

Brandon Moss and Ramon Vazquez homered and Charlie Morton (1-1) gave up one hit over six shutout innings for visiting Pittsburgh. Hanley Ramirez failed to drive in a run for the first time in 11 games for Florida.

BRAVES 9, NATIONALS 8

Pinch-hitter Brooks Conrad hit a go-ahead three-run homer off Jesus Colome (1-1) in the top of the seventh inning for an 8-5 lead as Atlanta held off Washington for its season-high fifth straight victory.

ROCKIES 5, DIAMONDBACKS 0

Jorge De La Rosa (5-7) scattered four hits in eight innings, Ian Stewart hit a solo homer and Colorado won its sixth straight at home, while handing Arizona its eighth loss in nine games.

GIANTS 13, ASTROS 0

Pablo Sandoval hit a two-run homer, Travis Ishikawa added a three-run shot that was initially ruled a double before the umpire crew used the replay, and rookie Ryan Sadowski (2-0) gave up three hits in seven innings to lead host San Francisco over Houston.

AMERICAN LEAGUE

YANKEES 4, BLUE JAYS 2

A.J. Burnett (7-4) scattered two runs and six hits over seven innings, Robinson Cano and Alex Rodriguez homered, and host New York beat Toronto for its eighth win in nine games.

MARINERS 7, RED SOX 6

Rob Johnson doubled home two runs in the top of the 11th inning as Seattle held off Boston. Tim Wakefield made his 383rd start for the Red Sox, surpassing Roger Clemens for the top spot on the team's all-time list.

INDIANS 15, ATHLETICS 3

Shin-Soo Choo had an RBI single, two-run double, three-run homer and capped his night with a solo shot to power host Cleveland past Oakland, snapping a five-game losing streak with only its third victory in the last 16 games.

WHITE SOX 5, ROYALS 0

John Danks (7-6) scattered five hits over 7 1/3 innings and A. J. Pierzynski homered and he and Scott Podsednik both had three hits to lead visiting Chicago over Kansas City for its 11th victory n 13 games.

RANGERS 3, RAYS 1

Tommy Hunter (1-1) earned his first career victory on his 23rd birthday, allowing a run and three hits in 5 1/3 innings, and Hank Blalock homered as host Texas won its third in a row, beating Tampa Bay.

ORIOLES 6, ANGELS 4

Aubrey Huff hit a three-run homer, Luke Scott doubled home two runs and David Hernandez (2-2) allowed three runs and six hits over 6 2/3 innings as visiting Baltimore beat Los Angeles, dropping the Angels into a first-place tie with Texas in the AL West.

TIGERS 11, TWINS 9

With runners on second and third in the top of the 16th, Placido Polanco lined a single through the left side of a drawn-in infield, scoring Ramon Santiago with the go-ahead run, and Ryan Raburn and Magglio Ordonez added insurance runs as Detroit outlasted Minnesota.

NOTES

Braves: Struggling Atlanta second baseman Kelly Johnson was placed on the 15-day disabled list with right wrist tendinitis. Johnson was in a 9-for-74 skid that has dropped his batting average to .214.

Red Sox: Boston right-hander Daisuke Matsuzaka will go to Florida on Monday to begin a spring training-like strengthening program to help him back to the big leagues. Matsuzaka was 1-5 with an 8.23 ERA.