GatewayRedbirds.com

Thanks to David Freese, the transition for the St. Louis Cardinals from Albert Pujols hasn't been too difficult.

Freese and the Cardinals will go for a fourth straight win Wednesday when they close their three-game series against the Cincinnati Reds.

Despite losing one of the majors' most feared power hitters, St. Louis has been extremely productive at the plate. The Cardinals improved to 5-1 with a 3-1 win over Cincinnati on Tuesday, as Freese and Carlos Beltran homered to back Kyle Lohse's six strong innings.

St. Louis has hit 11 homers and is batting .310 while averaging 5.7 runs. The Cardinals hit two homers, batted .231 and averaged 2.5 runs in opening 2011 with four losses in six games.

Freese, who won World Series MVP honors after driving in seven runs while batting .348 as the Cardinals beat Texas in seven games, has picked up where he left off. He has three homers and 10 RBIs while hitting .444, helping St. Louis get off to its best start since 2008.

Freese is the 11th Cardinals player since 1921 to drive in 10 runs in the first six games.

Beltran also has hit three home runs.

"If those guys keep doing that, we're going to have a pretty good club," first-year manager Mike Matheny said.

While a hot offense and strong pitching have the Cardinals off to a good start, the Reds (2-3) have seven hits in the first two games of this series.

Cincinnati may not find it any easier to score runs Wednesday against Jaime Garcia, who is 6-1 with a 3.13 ERA in nine appearances versus the Reds, including 2-1 with a 1.42 ERA in three starts last year.

The left-hander was strong in his season debut against Milwaukee on Friday, giving up two runs and five hits in six innings of an 11-5 victory.

Not many Reds have had success against Garcia. Votto is 2 for 16 with five strikeouts while Jay Bruce, hitting .316 to start the season, also has two hits in 16 at-bats.

CINCINNATI (AP) They lead the majors in homers. Their starting rotation is one of the NL's best. So far, the defending World Series champion Cardinals don't seem to miss Albert Pujols all that much.

Carlos Beltran and David Freese homered again on Tuesday night, and Kyle Lohse provided another stingy performance, leading St. Louis to a 3-1 victory over the Cincinnati Reds.

The Cardinals are off to a 5-1 start for the first time since 2008, playing like champions in the season's first week. No letup at all.

''If those guys keep doing that, we're going to have a pretty good club,'' first-year manager Mike Matheny said.

Beltran, counted on to help make up for the loss of Pujols, hit his third homer off Mike Leake (0-1). Freese, the World Series MVP, added a two-run shot off Leake - also his third.

St. Louis came into the game leading the majors with nine homers. It has five in its first two games at Great American Ball Park, which is one of the majors' most homer-friendly places.

But it's the pitching that's getting the most plaudits.

Lohse (2-0) has made impressive starts in Florida's summery warmth and Cincinnati's April chill. He took a no-hitter into the eighth inning of a 4-1 win in Miami last Wednesday, allowing only one run and two hits.

For the second game in a row, the Cardinals got to a Reds starter before he could break a sweat. They hit three homers in the first inning off Homer Bailey on Monday night.

Beltran hit Leake's fifth pitch into the stands in right field. Leake escaped another big Cardinals first inning by getting Yadier Molina to ground into a double play with the bases loaded. Molina also grounded into a double play with two runners aboard in the eighth.

Lance Berkman, who has the most homers by a visiting player at Great American, tripled into the right-field corner in the sixth. Freese followed with his third homer, a drive that bounced off the top of the wall in right field and caromed up into the stands.

Leake thinks the Cardinals are just as formidable without Pujols, who left as a free agent for the Angels after the World Series championship.

''It's still a difficult lineup,'' Leake said. ''They lost a big name, but they're still a threat.''

Berkman left the game in the eighth with tightness in his left calf, which started bothering him after he ran out his triple.

Darn, our two hottest hitters are out of the lineup plus Puma. Boy I really hope Craig gets back soon. He'd make these get-away lineups look a lot better.

Three of them involve jokes. They are a handy comedic prop.

Once I needed to scare away a groundhog, and had nothing else at my disposal.

And once I needed to make some money to pay my rent, so I made a deposit.

La Russa i hate u wats ur love affair with suchmaker, craig is a beast dont u get it ugh...

Is it really necessary to sit Freese, Beltran, and Berkman the day before an off day?

1. SS Rafael Furcal
2. CF Jon Jay
3. LF Matt Holliday
4. 1B Matt Carpenter
5. C Yadier Molina
6. 3B Dan Descalso
7. 2B Tyler Greene
8. RF Erik Komatsu
9. LHP Jaime Garcia