Rockies Drop the Series Opener to the Cards 6-1

Kyle Lohse worked into the seventh inning after a week between starts and Albert Pujols followed up a 4-for-4 game with two hits and the go-ahead RBI to lead the St. Louis Cardinals to a 6-1 victory over the Colorado Rockies on Friday night.

David Freese had two hits and three RBIs, two of them during a five-run sixth that chased Aaron Cook (2-7). Matt Holliday returned after missing two games with a lower back injury and had an RBI double, while Lohse contributed his first Busch Stadium RBI in nearly two seasons, both in the rally.

Carlos Gonzalez hit his 17th home run for the Rockies, who have lost three in a row while mustering just four runs and are a season-worst 10 games below .500 (55-65).

Lohse (10-7) allowed a run on four hits in 6 1-3 innings.