Cards bounce back

The World Series champions had lost five straight since Hancock was killed in a vehicle accident on Sunday.

"I think guys just wanted to go out there and turn this season around a little bit," winning pitcher Adam Wainwright said. "You can't do that in one game, but this is a good start.

"We wanted to win for Josh, too. I did, anyway," Wainwright added.

The team paid tribute to Hancock with a moment of silence and a display on the stadium video board.

Hancock was drunk, talking on a cell phone and not wearing a seatbelt when he slammed into the back of a tow truck stopped beside a highway, killing him, police said on Friday.

Pujols's game-winning double capped a three-run fifth inning for the Cardinals.

"The pitch previous to that was a pretty good pitch low and away," Pujols said.

"I think if he (Astros pitcher Woody Williams) would have thrown that pitch again, he would have struck me out. But he hung the breaking ball."

The hit extended his hitting streak to 12 games.

Chris Duncan singled home the Cardinals' first run, then scored along with Preston Wilson on Pujols's double. Wainwright gave up seven hits and two runs in evening his record at 2-2.

Rookie Troy Tulowitzki's two-out 11th-inning single gave the Colorado Rockies a 6-5 road win over the Cincinnati Reds. Ken Griffey Jr. hit his 567th career home run for the Reds.

John Smoltz pitched seven shutout innings to record his first win over the Los Angeles Dodgers in eight years as the Atlanta Braves won 4-0 on the road.

J.J. Hardy's four hits and Claudio Vargas's four-hit pitching for six innings powered the Milwaukee Brewers to a 10-0 home win over the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Paul Lo Duca and Julio Franco homered against Arizona's Randy Johnson and the New York Mets took a 5-3 victory for their 12th straight win in the Diamondbacks' home park. Johnson was tagged for five runs and nine hits in seven innings. He struck out seven.

Eliezer Alfonzo's three-run double in the seventh inning helped rally the San Francisco Giants to a 6-2 home win over the Philadelphia Phillies. Barry Bonds went 0-for-2 but scored twice off walks.

The San Diego Padres have placed right-handed pitcher Clay Hensley on the 15-day disabled list because of a strained groin.

Over in the American League, Justin Verlander held the Kansas City Royals scoreless for seven innings as the Detroit Tigers won their fifth consecutive game with a 6-3 road victory.

The win was the fifth straight over the Royals for Verlander, who gave up seven hits while striking out three.

"If he throws like this, he's going to beat a lot of teams," Tigers manager Jim Leyland said.

Verlander left the game in the eighth after allowing a single and a walk. Mike Sweeney then hit a two-run double off Bobby Seay.

Carlos Guillen got the Tigers off to a 2-0 start with a two-run double in the first. Detroit added four more runs in the fifth. The victory boosted Verlander's record to 2-1.

"He's still learning the art of pitching," Leyland said.

"For the most part, he pitched comfortably tonight, and the ball came out of his hand real good at a real high rate of speed."

His fastball was occasionally clocked at 100 miles per hour.

"Good fastball control," Verlander said when asked about his win. "When you establish yourself, you allow yourself to have success in throwing your offspeed stuff."

Yuniesky Betancourt drove in three runs with two doubles as the Seattle Mariners used an eight-run fifth inning to pound the homestanding New York Yankees 15-11. Seattle had 20 hits with every starter getting a hit and scoring a run.

Tim Wakefield allowed only three hits over seven innings as the first-place Boston Red Sox beat the Minnesota Twins 2-0 on the road.

Nick Markakis's 10th-inning single lifted the Baltimore Orioles to a 3-2 home win over the Cleveland Indians that ended a four-game losing streak.

Nick Swisher's three-run homer in the ninth inning powered the Oakland Athletics to a 5-2 road win over the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.

Hank Blalock homered in a 3-for-4 outing as the Texas Rangers ended a five-game losing streak with a 7-1 home victory over the Toronto Blue Jays.

The Los Angeles Angels have placed outfielder Garret Anderson on the 15-day disabled list because of a tear in his right hip flexor tendon.