ST. LOUIS (AP) - Albert Pujols got his 2,000th hit and Edwin Jackson pitched seven innings in his debut with St. Louis, lifting the Cardinals to a 9-2 win Friday over the Chicago Cubs.
David Freese hit a three-run homer and Ryan Theriot, who entered as a pinch-hitter in the sixth, drove in three runs on two hits.
In his 10th season, Pujols is 263rd overall on the major league hit list. He's the fifth Cardinal to get 2,000 hits in a career. He is the 12th quickest player to 2,000 hits in history, taking 1,650 games.
Pujols joined Stan Musial (3,630), Lou Brock (2,713), Rogers Hornsby (2,110) and Enos Slaughter (2,063) as the only Cardinals to get 2,000 with the franchise.
The eighth-inning double down the third-base line off Carlos Marmol capped a 2-for-5 and drove in a run.
Jackson, a right-hander was dealt Wednesday in a three-team deal from the Chicago White Sox to the Toronto Blue Jays and then to the St. Louis Cardinals.
Jackson (8-7) gave up seven hits and two walks. He was won four of his last five decisions. Jackson has allowed three earned runs in 22 innings, winning his last three starts.
The Cardinals have won their last five games against the Cubs. The last time they won five straight over Chicago was in 2000. The loss sank the Cubs, losers of four straight, to 22 games below .500, their low-water mark of the season. In those four consecutive losses, Chicago has been outscored 14-6.
Pujols led off the fourth inning with a double. After Matt Holliday singled, Freese hit a three-run homer into the left-center field bleachers for a 3-1 St. Louis lead.
The Cardinals chased Chicago starter Matt Garza (4-8). Holliday scored on a a one-out single by Yadier Molina. After getting Jackson to pop out with the bases loaded, Garza gave way to James Russell to face Corey Patterson. Theriot pinch-hit for Patterson and hit a ball down the third-base line and Aramis Ramirez dove for the ball, knocking it into foul territory, scoring two runs for a 6-1 lead.
It was Theriot's first pinch-hit in three chances this year and snapped an 0 for 14 hitless streak.
Skip Schumaker got an assist in right when he moved there in the seventh when Theriot stayed in the game to play second. Colvin singled and went to second on a balk. Pinch-hitter Blake DeWitt singled to right and Schumaker's one-hop throw to home was in time to get Colvin.
St. Louis added its last three runs in the eighth. The final one came on Pujols' double.
Kyle McClellan made his first appearance since being dropped from the starting rotation with the addition of Jackson. He got one out in the eighth, facing four batters and giving up a run to make it 6-2.
In the first inning, Pujols hit into his major league-leading 23rd double play. It was the 113th double play hit into by the Cardinals, who lead the majors.
Notes: St. Louis native and Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Chuck Berry, celebrating his 84th birthday, threw out the first pitch to infielder Tyler Greene, who was recalled earlier in the day from Triple-A Memphis. Berry was wearing a Cardinals jersey with No. 84 on the back with the words "Father of Rock and Roll" on it. Berry tunes played between each inning. Earlier in the day, a life-sized statue of Berry was unveiled in suburban University City. ... The Cardinals placed infielder Nick Punto on the 15-day disabled list with a strained his left oblique muscle. ... Cubs left-handed reliever James Russell pitched one-third of an inning to give him to 14 scoreless innings this year.