Pujols breaks out of slump in a big way

Now that his April drought is over, Albert Pujols says he was never worried about the unsightly numbers next to his name.

Pujols homered twice and had five runs batted in, leading a 13-hit attack that helped the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Milwaukee Brewers, 10-2, on Sunday.

“Obviously, this year hasn’t been working out early,” Pujols said. “But just because I haven’t found myself at the plate, I don’t want to go crazy.”

Converted reliever Braden Looper was effective in his third start for the Cardinals, who scored four runs during an 0-4 start at Busch Stadium. Their first home victory since beating the Tigers in Game 5 of the World Series came against Brewers ace Ben Sheets (1-2), who fell to 4-14 in 22 starts against St. Louis.

“I don’t think I always struggle,” said Sheets, who has a 4.36 earned-run average against the Cardinals. “I don’t come out on the winning end all the time, but I’ve had plenty of good games against these guys.”

Pujols, who hit a major league-record 14 homers last April, has three this month. He began the game batting .158 with two RBIs.