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Final Score: St. Louis 8 - Atlanta 3

Atlanta, GA (Sports Network) - Albert Pujols homered, doubled and walked, while Yadier Molina went 3-for-5 and knocked in a pair as St. Louis dropped the reeling Braves, 8-3, on the day Atlanta traded first baseman Mark Teixeira to the Los Angeles Angels.

Teixeira, who led the Braves with 78 runs batted in and was tied for the team lead in home runs with 20, was sent to the west coast in exchange for first baseman Casey Kotchman and minor league pitcher Steve Marek.

Brendan Ryan went 2-for-5 with a run batted in for the Cardinals, who have won three of their last four.

Ryan Franklin (4-4) tossed two scoreless innings to win in relief of Todd Wellemeyer, who held the Braves to two runs on eight hits in six frames.

Gregor Blanco went 4-for-4 with an RBI for the Braves, who are mired in a four-game losing streak. Greg Norton started in the spot vacated by Teixeira and went 2-for-4 with an RBI.

Rafael Soriano (0-1) allowed an unearned run and lost behind Jorge Campillo, who allowed two runs on seven hits in seven solid innings. Mike Gonzalez was tagged for five runs -- just one earned -- in two-thirds of an inning.

After Pujols tied the game with a homer in the sixth, he provided the go-ahead run in the eighth. The perennial All-Star laced a leadoff double down the right-field line, and with one out he attempted to steal third base. Catcher Corky Miller's throw was errant, ticking off Omar Infante's glove and into left, allowing Pujols to trot home.

Franklin worked around a leadoff walk to Kelly Johnson to hold the lead in the home eighth.

St. Louis then danced away with five runs against Gonzalez in the ninth. Ryan led off with a single, then advanced to third when Norton threw away pinch- hitter Aaron Miles' attempted sacrifice bunt. A Cesar Izturis RBI single and Nick Stavinoha's sacrifice fly brought in two runs, and with two outs, Gonzalez issued three straight walks to force in Izturis. Gonzalez was yanked in favor of Blaine Boyer, but Molina completed the onslaught with a two-run single to center.

"We got the win, so that's what's most important, rather than what happened in the game," Pujols said. "We struggled a little bit, the last six or seven games before the break, and then we came back and picked it up again."

Norton's RBI groundout against Kyle McClellan in the bottom half secured the final margin.

St. Louis hit the board first, as Molina singled with two outs and came in to score when Ryan blooped a double off second baseman Johnson's glove. Atlanta countered with two in the bottom half on run-scoring hits from Blanco and Jeff Francoeur.

"We played well, we fought hard, Campy pitched a great game," Francoeur said. "The score of the game wasn't the way the game was played. We let it get away, but we were one hit away from winning the game."

An error by Ryan gave the Braves runners on the corners with one out in the fifth, but a heads-up play by Molina prevented the Braves from increasing their lead. Johnson struck out, and when Infante tried to steal second, Molina faked a throw and caught Mark Kotsay in a rundown off third to end the inning.

Pujols wasted no time tying the game in the sixth, as he led off by hammering a 3-1 slider over the wall in straightaway center.