ST. LOUIS (AP) — Matt Holliday homered twice hours after being picked to represent the National League in the Home Run Derby and Jaime Garcia had another stingy home outing in the St. Louis Cardinals’ 8-1 victory over the Cincinnati Reds on Tuesday night.

Holliday is not a prototypical home run hitter, totaling 77 the last three seasons and entering the game with just 10 in 62 games. He powered up against Edinson Volquez (5-4) with a solo shot in the first and three-run homer in the fifth for his 16th career multi-homer game and first since July 7, 2010, at Colorado.

The Cardinals activated Albert Pujols from the 15-day disabled list before the game but did not use him after putting the three-time NL MVP through an extensive pre-game workout.

Pujols beat the estimated timetable for his return from a broken left wrist by a month, emerging on his first day of eligibility from the disab led list, and is expected to start Wednesday.

Holliday and Lance Berkman homered on consecutive at-bats in the first inning.

Berkman leads the league with 23 homers after a drive to right estimated at 452 feet, the longest at 6-year-old Busch Stadium, and with 350 career homers he is tied for fourth with Chili Davis on the career switch-hitter list, trailing only Mickey Mantle, Eddie Murray and Chipper Jones.

The Reds, defending champions in the NL Central, have lost four of five and fell a game below .500 for the first time since May 3. Manager Dusty Baker dipped below the break-even point, too, with a record of 286-287 in his fifth season with Cincinnati.

Central-leading St. Louis is 12-0-1 in series at home against the Reds since 2006 and will go for a three-game sweep Wednesday night, with Jake Westbrook opposing Bronson Arroyo.

Garcia (8-3) allowed one run and two hits in six innings and is 5-1 with a major league-best 0.94 ERA at home. The left-hander didn’t allow a hit until Brandon Phillips doubled leading off the fourth, eventually scoring on two groundouts.

The Reds threatened again in the fifth, loading the bases on two walks and a single by Volquez before Phillips grounded into a forceout on a bang-bang play at second after shortstop Ryan Theriot fielded the ball in the hole.

Theriot added a two-run double off Sam LeCure in a three-run sixth that made it 8-1.

Volquez has allowed 22 runs in the first inning, permitting at least one run in half of his 16 starts. He had allowed a total of three homers his previous five starts before giving up three against St. Louis to match a season worst and gave up seven runs, six earned, in 5 1-3 innings.