Pujols' three homers help Cardinals rally

St. Louis' rally devastated the rival Cubs.
CHICAGO (AP) -- Albert Pujols winked his approval at a ninth-inning hit-and-run sign and then drove the ball the opposite way -- into the right field basket for his third homer of the game.
Pujols' standout performance on a sticky day at Wrigley Field brought the St. Louis Cardinals back from a six-run deficit and staggered the rival Chicago Cubs in their final meeting this season.
"It's one of those days you never forget," Pujols said after an improbable 11-8 victory. "It was the first time I've hit three home runs, and it came at the right time."
For the Cubs, though, the timing couldn't have been worse. It's a defeat they could have trouble getting over, especially after scoring seven runs in the second inning and leading 7-1.
"It's a very devastating and tough loss," manager Dusty Baker said.
Pujols went 5-for-5 with a double and five RBI, and the Cardinals increased their NL Central lead to 10 games over the now third-place Cubs. St. Louis won the season series 11-8.
Extra special
"This is extra special right here," Pujols said. "You're playing against your rival. I don't think we ever thought we were going to have a lead like this."
After Matt Morris threw a ball behind Chicago's Corey Patterson in the first -- the aftermath of a near scuffle the night before -- the Cubs jumped on the Cardinals pitcher for seven runs in the second.
But the sizable lead melted and so did the Cubs' composure.
Reliever LaTroy Hawkins, who gave up Pujols' go-ahead homer, was ejected after he started yelling at home plate umpire Tim Tschida as he walked toward the dugout.
An angry Hawkins had to be restrained by Baker and several Cubs coaches from going at Tschida.
"I talked to him like a man at first, and it didn't work. You think I'm going to hit him? I'm not going to hit him," Hawkins said.
In 2002 when Hawkins was with the Twins, Tschida ejected him from a game in a disagreement over the positioning of the reliever's chair in the bullpen.
Tschida said the previous disagreement had no bearing on their argument Tuesday over the location of pitches in the ninth, adding that he never felt threatened by Hawkins' attempts to get at him.
After Pujols' homer broke an 8-8 tie, Reggie Sanders added a solo shot. Jason Isringhausen retired Aramis Ramirez on a shallow fly with the bases loaded to end it, getting his 24th save.
Pujols had an RBI double in the first, hit his 25th homer in the third off Chicago starter Glendon Rusch, No. 26 in the seventh off Kyle Farnsworth and then his 27th in the ninth.
Big stage
"We've seen it before, but this is on a big stage in a big game," Morris said.
So Taguchi's homer off Farnsworth in the eighth tied the game at 8.
"I guess at this point it looks like maybe it's good we're not playing them anymore," Baker said.
"Hopefully we'll see them in October when we'll be playing better baseball. ... I'm not conceding nothing right now. They got a 10-game lead. We got a big mountain to climb, but we can overcome it."
The benches emptied Monday night when fiery Cubs starter Carlos Zambrano hit Edmonds with pitches twice and was ejected.
So Morris sent an early message to the Cubs with his pitch behind Patterson.
"I had to stick up for my team, get the warning out early," Morris said. "It was a little bit of a slip, but I didn't let it slip too far."
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