Albert Pujols rewarded an adoring crowd by hitting a home run in his return to Busch Stadium, sending the Los Angeles Dodgers toward a 7-2 win over the St. Louis Cardinals on Tuesday night.

Justin Turner homered twice and Will Smith also homered for the playoff-contending Dodgers, who won for the sixth time in eight games. St. Louis has lost four in a row.

A star slugger who led the Cardinals to a pair of World Series championships, the 41-year-old Pujols made his second appearance at Busch Stadium after playing for St. Louis from 2001-2011.

Pujols drew a 40-second standing ovation when his name was announced prior to a first-inning at-bat, with catcher and longtime teammate Yadier Molina stepping in front of the plate to prolong the cheer. They had a short embrace before Pujols stepped in.

Pujols promptly drilled the fourth pitch from J.A. Happ on a line over the wall in left. It was his 679th career home run and 17th of the season.

Alex Vesia (3-1) picked up the win for Los Angeles, which used nine pitchers. He struck out the only man he faced to end the third inning. Corey Knebel started and went one inning as the opener.

Turner recorded the 12th multihomer game of his career and second of the season.

Happ (8-8) allowed four runs on seven hits over five innings.

Turner homered in fifth inning to push the lead to 4-2. Smith, who went 4 for 4, added his 23rd home run in the sixth. Turner pushed the lead to a 7-2 with a two-run shot in the ninth and 23rd of the year.

Tyler O'Neill had three hits for St. Louis, which came into play chasing San Diego for the second NL wild-card spot.

Adam Wainwright (14-7, 2.91 ERA) will start for the Cardinals in the third game of the four-game series, He has pitched at least six innings in his last 12 regular season starts against the Dodgers, who have yet to announce a starter.