Matt Cain absorbed the worst beating of his career from the same team he held hitless for six innings last weekend. Albert Pujols hit a three-run homer to cap a six-run fourth inning and the St. Louis Cardinals beat San Francisco 11-1 on Friday. St. Louis reached a season best for runs and tied its high for hit.
The 23-year-old Cain (0-2) allowed a personal-high nine runs on eight hits in 3 2-3 innings. The outing, which included Chris Duncan's two-run homer in the third, surpassed the eight runs he allowed the Cubs in 5 1-3 innings in May 2006. Todd Wellemeyer (2-0) matched his career high with seven strong innings for the Cardinals, who are 8-2 at home. (More baseball stories.)