Albert Pujols' three-run home run lifted the Cardinals to a 6-2 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers and a berth in the National League Championship Series.
Pujols went 2-for-4 and drove in four runs for the Cardinals, who won the series 3-1 and outscored the Dodgers 22-12.
St. Louis, the top team in the majors with a 105-57 regular-season, opens the NLCS at home Wednesday against the winner of Monday night's fifth and deciding game between the Atlanta Braves and Houston Astros.
St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Albert Pujols gestures after crossing home plate following his three-run home run on Sunday. (AP/Mark J. Terrill)
"They're probably going to win the World Series," Dodgers closer Eric Gagne of Montreal said. "We got beat by the world champions."
Though they're not world champions yet, the Cardinals will attempt to become the first team with the best regular-season record to win the World Series since the 1998 New York Yankees.
Jeff Suppan shook off some early nerves and pitched seven solid innings in his playoff debut for the Cardinals. The right-hander gave up two runs on two hits with two strikeouts and three walks. Suppan also supported his cause with two hits.
Relievers Julian Tavarez, Ray King and Jason Isringhausen combined to shut out the Dodgers in the final two innings to secure the victory.
After Isringhausen struck out Alex Cora to end the game, members of both teams met in the middle of the field and shook hands. While common at the end of playoff series in the NHL, it's a rarity in baseball. Most times, the losing team retreats to the clubhouse while the winners celebrate.
"That's the first time I've seen a team doing that to the other ball club when they were the losing ballclub, and I think that was very special," Pujols said.
"I think it was a professional show of class between two very classy organizations," Dodgers manager Jim Tracy said of the handshakes. "To play this series the way it was played with the intensity it was played, it said a lot."
Reggie Sanders had a solo homer for St. Louis, while Larry Walker of Maple Ridge, B.C., notched two hits and scored three runs.
With the game tied 2-2 going into the fourth, Pujols broke the game open when he launched a fastball from Wilson Alvarez high and inside the left-field foul pole. The three-run blast scored Tony Womack and Walker and silenced the sellout crowd at Dodger Stadium.
"Albert is a tremendous player, he does amazing things out there," Suppan said. "With him and everyone else, it's the best team I've been on."
Pujols added an RBI single in the seventh inning.
Jayson Werth gave the Dodgers an early 1-0 lead with a solo home run off Suppan in the first inning.
The Cardinals answered the following inning when Sanders took an Odalis Perez pitch over the left-field fence.
Perez's troubles began in the third. He was pulled after allowing two walks and an RBI single by Edgar Renteria and replaced with Alvarez.
Perez, who was torched for six runs on five hits over two innings of work in Game 1, gave up two runs on three hits and five walks in Game 4.
Adrian Beltre made it 2-2 with a sacrifice fly in the third, but the Dodgers couldn't get any more offence going against Suppan and the St. Louis bullpen.
"They have a lot of weapons," Tracy said. "They're going to be a formidable opponent whoever they play against."
with files from Associated Press
