Pujols seems to have awakened

ARLINGTON, Texas

So the message to the Rangers about Albert Pujols, then, is this:

Don't make him angry. You wouldn't like him when he's angry.

All right, so maybe Friday's kerfuffle had absolutely nothing to do with Pujols putting together perhaps the best one-game performance in World Series history. At the least, however, it only enhanced this night's drama.

Pujols' three-homer, six-RBI, 5-for-6, 14-total-base performance powered the Cardinals to a 16-7 pummeling of Texas in Game 3 of this Fall Classic Saturday night at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington.

St. Louis leads the series two games to one, and the evidence strongly indicates that Pujols -- after going hitless in the first two contests -- is hot.

How rare is Albert's air? He joins an exclusive club, featuring only Babe Ruth and Reggie Jackson, of players who have gone deep three times in a World Series game.

"Those guys are great players," Pujols said. "And to do it at that level and on this stage is amazing. But . . . at the same time, I didn't walk into the ballpark today thinking I was going to have a night like this."

"Has somebody ever had a better day than this, ever in a World Series?" Tony La Russa asked.

Not really, no. The total bases set a World Series record, breaking the mark of 12 set by Jackson (1977 Game 6) and Ruth (1926 Game 4 and 1928 Game 4).

His six RBIs also tied the Yankees' Hideki Matsui (2009) and Bobby Richardson (1960) for the most in a World Series game.

Pujols' power ensured that the Cardinals would survive this slugfest, which featured much ugliness -- three Rangers errors, a blown call by first-base umpire Ron Kulpa and neither starting pitcher making it through the fourth inning -- and the beauty of Pujols' greatness.

"He's a super player, no doubt about it," Rangers manager Ron Washington said. "He certainly came to play tonight."

"Obviously, it's a blessing to be able to do that today," Pujols said.

Pujols spoke as if in a trance, calmly downplaying his accomplishments and saluting his teammates, until the subject of Thursday night's and Friday's controversy arose.

In case you missed it, Pujols didn't stand before his locker to answer reporters' questions after Game 2, during which he committed a crucial ninth-inning error that set the stage for the go-ahead run to score.

That violates the players' code of taking your medicine. Pujols didn't see it that way, though, angrily saying Friday that no one in the media had asked to speak with him.

Asked if the extra attention gave him extra motivation, Pujols replied, "Not really . . . The sad part of that was that you got two great quality pitchers [in Game 2], and nobody talked about that, about Jaime [Garcia, of the Cardinals] and [the Rangers' Colby] Lewis. Nobody talked about that. They just concentrated [on] that I left the clubhouse when I was there for 25 minutes and nobody approached me."

Eh. He's an all-time superstar. He reports to work every day with immense expectations, on and off the field.

And when he surpasses those gargantuan expectations? It's something to see. Something to remember forever.

"That's the latest example of how great he is," La Russa said. "You saw it tonight."