A bases-clearing double in the seventh inning by Albert Pujols paved the way for the Cardinals to shut out the Cincinnati Reds 6-0 Sunday at Busch Stadium.

Pujols' hit came off of Reds reliever Nick Masset and scored Nick Stavinoha, Jon Jay and Ryan Ludwick. It broke open a Cardinals' 3-0 lead and helped St. Louis take two of three games from Cincinnati.

Reds starter Aaron Harang (1-4) allowed three runs on seven hits in six innings with six strikeouts before he yielded to Carlos Fisher in the seventh.

After Fisher put Stavinoha and Jay on base via singles, he was relieved by Masset, who walked Ludwick and then allowed Pujols' double. Micah Owings pitched the eighth inning.

Chris Carpenter (4-0) fanned eight batters, walked three and allowed two hits in seven innings, lowering his ERA to 2.84. Two relievers, Jason Motte and Mitchell Boggs, each pitched an inning to finish the game.

St. Louis scored individual runs in the second, third and fifth innings.
The Cardinals got the scoring underway on David Freese's third homer of the year, a solo shot in the second inning.

Cincinnati's three hits included a double by Drew Stubbs and singles by Joey Votto and Scott Rolen.