"Mark DeRosa has been with the Cardinals less than a week, but he already knows he's seen it all. "He's from another planet," said DeRosa, limited to watching and not playing right now because of injury.

The "he" in question is Albert Pujols and, as they say, maybe he really can do it all.

His eighth-inning grand slam Friday night merely broke Stan Musial's club records for most slams in a season (Pujols has four) and for a career (Pujols has 10). It was Pujols' sixth hit in seven at-bats with the bases loaded this season, and he's knocked in an astounding 20 runs in bases-filled spots this year.

But, after Pujols had erased a 3-0 Reds lead in the eighth, Pujols turned instructor with the score tied at 4-4 in the ninth on the way to a 7-4 Cardinals victory.

Rookie Jarrett Hoffpauir, who had walked on four pitches in his major-league debut ahead of Pujols' slam, was at bat himself with the bases loaded and two out in the ninth. Pujols, in the on-deck circle, summoned Hoffpauir before the latter faced off against lefthander Daniel Ray Herrera.

"He told me to relax, get a pitch to hit and punch it the other way," said the 26-year-old Hoffpauir. "Albert said (Herrera's) changeup was his best pitch."

The critical information relayed, Hoffpauir singled home two runs and then Pujols knocked in his fifth run of the night with a double as the Cardinals, with Ryan Franklin pitching out of a bases-loaded spot in the ninth, pulled off a remarkable win that restored them to the lead in theNL Central.

The pitch to Hoffpauir was a changeup, just as Pujols had said. "That's why he's so good. That's why he's Albert," Hoffpauir said.

There was no question that Hoffpauir was nervous in his debut. "I think my knees were touching each other, I was shaking so hard," he said.

Though Hoffpauir got the game-winner, Reds manager Dusty Baker had a different perspective. "(Pujols) beat us by himself," Baker said. "He took the game from us. This guy's a one-man wrecking crew."

Baker, ignoring the numbers, had brought in veteran righthander David Weathers with one out in the eighth to face Pujols even though Pujols was nine for 18 with two homers against Weathers. That was before the grand slam.

Weathers didn't have much leeway, even though a walk would have made the score only 3-1. "That's a tough situation," Weathers said. "If you pitch around him and walk him, you've got the tying run at second and one out. That's the one situation where you absolutely have to pitch to him.""