By R.B. FALLSTROM
AP Sports Writer

ST. LOUIS(AP) -- Matt Holliday is batting .371 since joining the
St. Louis Cardinals, spurring a charge that's putting them on
the list of teams to beat in the postseason.

But he'll never be surprised when teams pitch around Albert
Pujols to get to him. Pujols drew his major league-leading 40th
intentional walk to set the stage for Holliday's go-ahead
three-run homer in a 7-6 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers on
Tuesday night.

"I'm going to anticipate Albert being walked if Babe Ruth is
hitting behind him," Holliday said. "I mean, 42 home runs on
Sept. 1. I think he's the best player of all time.

"Look at his first nine seasons and it would be hard to argue."

The intentional walks have slowed down for Pujols, who had 32 at
the All-Star break but now is the centerpiece of a much more
complete lineup. He had none the first 19 games of August,
during which the Cardinals went 14-5.

Still, opponents want somebody else to beat them.

"Obviously, having Matt and Mark DeRosa in our lineup it's not
easy now," Pujols said. "You have to make a pitch and not make a
mistake because they're going to make you pay."

Holliday's 20th homer overall and ninth in 35 games with St.
Louis lifted Joel Pineiro (14-9) to his eighth straight win.

Pujols hit his major league-leading 42nd homer in the fourth for
the Cardinals, who are a major-league best 26-9 since the July
24 trade with the Athletics for Holliday. They're 30-4 since
July 1 in starts by their big three - Adam Wainwright, Chris
Carpenter and Pineiro.

Rookie Casey McGehee hit a three-run homer in the first and
matched his career high with four RBIs for the Brewers, who
entered a three-game series against the NL Central leaders with
a three-game winning streak.

Skip Schumaker doubled off David Weathers (3-5) with one out in
the seventh, and Pujols got his free pass before Holliday drove
Todd Coffey's first pitch an estimated 416 feet over the wall in
left-center.

"I went right after him and he got me," Coffey said of Holliday,
a career .406 hitter with six homers and 16 RBIs at new Busch
Stadium. "I tried to use his aggressiveness against him."

The Cardinals have won Pineiro's last 11 starts and 12 of 13.
Pineiro escaped an early hole after only the seventh homer he's
surrendered all season.

Pineiro allowed one more run in his final six innings, retiring
13 of 14 at one point. He helped himself by making the Brewers
pound his sinker, striking out none for the third time this
season but instead producing 16 groundouts that kept shortstop
Brendan Ryan busy (10 assists).

Ryan Franklin, hours after signing a two-year contract
extension, allowed two runs in the ninth before getting his
NL-leading 37th save in 39 chances. J.J. Hardy, recalled from
Triple-A Nashville earlier in the day, and Felipe Lopez each had
an RBI.

St. Louis manager Tony La Russa worried about the focus of
Franklin and Trever Miller, who also signed a contract
extension, before using them. Miller struck out Prince Fielder
with a man on for the first out of the eighth.

"I don't have any numbers to support it, but especially for a
pitcher, you announce something that day and it's distracting,"
La Russa said. "Ryan was really fired up, he didn't have that
calmness. Why, I don't know, but he fought through it."

Coffey has given up four homers in his last five outings
covering 5 2-3 innings, including two in the 13th inning and the
loss against the Reds on Aug. 26.

McGehee's 12th homer to straightaway center with two outs in the
first gave the Brewers and Braden Looper a three-run cushion.
The lead evaporated in the fourth when Pujols' homer was the
first of four straight hits, with Colby Rasmus adding an RBI
single and the tying run scoring on a doubleplay ball.

The Brewers singled three times in the sixth and took the lead
on McGehee's single. St. Louis tied it in the bottom of the
sixth on Ryan Ludwick's double and Yadier Molina's RBI single,
both with two out.

NOTES: Looper worked six innings for the fourth straight start,
giving up four runs on eight hits. ... Cardinals RHP Todd
Wellemeyer (elbow) had a poor start to an injury rehab
assignment Monday with Triple-A Memphis, allowing four runs on
three hits in two-thirds of an inning. ... The Cardinals
activated Troy Glaus from the 60-day DL before the game. Glaus,
out since shoulder surgery in January, was on deck as a pinch
hitter in the eighth when the third out was made.