"A home run that needed a review to be verified left the Houston Astros fuming and proved to be the difference in the Cardinals' victory Tuesday.

But it was a later homer the Cardinals hope is a preview of a difference ahead.

Albert Pujols tagged a two-run homer in the first inning to put the Cardinals up and David Freese added a solo shot in the sixth to back Jake Westbrook in a 3-1 win at Busch Stadium.

With Matt Holliday home with a stomach illness and Lance Berkman removed in the fourth inning because of a shoulder injury, Freese's potential power surge took on added import and overshadowed the griping about whether Pujols' homer left the ballpark. Berkman will have an MRI taken of the shoulder today to determine if there is a direct treatment for the strained rotator cuff."