St. Louis, MO (Sports Network) - Aubrey Huff went 2-for-3 with a two-run homer and two walks, while Pablo Sandoval added a solo shot for the Giants in their 6-3 victory over the Cardinals in the opener of a three-game set.
Buster Posey recorded two doubles, a run scored and an RBI in the win, San Francisco's second straight following 1-4 stretch against the National League Wild Card-leading Phillies and NL West-leading Padres. The Giants sit one game behind the former and five behind the latter.
Madison Bumgarner (5-4) won for the first time in five starts, surrendering two runs on nine hits over seven-plus frames.
Jake Westbrook (1-1) was on the opposite end of the decision for the first time in a St. Louis uniform after allowing three runs on seven hits and two walks while fanning seven in six innings.
Albert Pujols went 2-for-4 with a home run for the Cardinals, who dropped a season-high fifth straight contest to fall four games behind Cincinnati in the NL Central race.
The Giants got the scoring started with a two-spot in the second frame. Bumgarner helped his own cause with a base hit to score Mike Fontenot, and Posey followed two batters later with a gapper to right that plated Freddy Sanchez for a 2-0 game.
The Cardinals recorded three consecutive one-out singles to load the bases in the bottom half, and Pedro Feliz, acquired in a trade with Houston on Thursday, raced home on Brendan Ryan's infield hit.
Westbrook gave the run right back in the third, serving up Sandoval's fourth home run in his last eight games.
It stayed 3-1 until Huff blasted his 21st home run of the season in the seventh off Blake Hawksworth. Posey doubled ahead of the round-tripper.
Andres Torres tacked on another run with an RBI single in the eighth, though St. Louis inched closer in the bottom half.
Bumgarner was pulled after yielding Pujols' 32nd home run of the season leading off the inning, and Sergio Romo gave up a pair of one-out singles and a run-scoring groundout off the bat of Jon Jay for a 6-3 game.
The Cardinals stayed alive with a pair of two-out hits from pinch-hitter Skip Schumaker and Pujols in the ninth, but Brian Wilson got Matt Holliday on a ground ball to second to notch his 35th save of the season.
Feliz, Jay and Yadier Molina each had two hits for the Cardinals, while Sandoval, Fontenot and Sanchez each recorded a pair of hits for San Fran...The Giants stranded 12, compared to 10 for St. Louis...Sandoval's homer was his 10th of the year.