"Ryan Ludwick is starting to look a little bit more like a cleanup hitter.

The Cardinals' right fielder was one for three with a walk in Wednesday night's 2-1 win over the San Francisco Giants, and he recorded his 39th RBI with a first-inning single that drove in Skip Schumaker after an intentional walk to Albert Pujols.

One night earlier, Ludwick hit a double and his first triple of the season with the bases empty against Randy Johnson. It was his first game with two extra-base hits since he hit two home runs against the Cubs on April 17.

"I'm just trying to put together good at-bats and I feel like I've done that in the last four days," Ludwick said. "All you can do is control going up there and trying to get a good pitch to hit and laying off bad pitches. "

Before hitting a double against Minnesota on Sunday, the man who serves as Pujols' top protection hadn't hit one in his last 136 at-bats, and he hit just six home runs during that stretch. Combine that with a .234 average for the season, and it's no wonder many were beginning to ask the Cardinals' front office to find another bat to help their star.

On Wednesday night, Pujols' two singles were followed by outs from Ludwick, although his fly ball nearly found the gap in left-center in the seventh. Since going 12 at-bats without a hit last week, Ludwick is five for 13 with three extra-base hits.

If there has been one silver lining for Ludwick during an otherwise disappointing season, it's that he's hitting .298 with five home runs and 31 runs batted in with runners in scoring position. He's second only to Pujols in RBIs for the Cardinals despite missing more than two weeks with a hamstring injury in May."