2006: Another Stadium, Another Championship
In the off-season of 2005, the Cardinals needed to fill in the holes left by the retired Larry Walker, as well as Matt Morris, Reggie Sanders, Mark Grudzielanek, John Mabry, and Julián Tavárez, who departed as free agents. The Cardinals first traded pitcher Ray King to the Colorado Rockies for second baseman Aaron Miles and outfielder Larry Bigbie. They later signed free agents Juan Encarnación, Sidney Ponson, Junior Spivey, Braden Looper, Gary Bennett, Jeff Nelson, and Deivi Cruz.
Old Busch Stadium was demolished in the 2005 offseason, and the third Busch Stadium opened on April 4, 2006 with a minor league game between the Memphis Redbirds and the Springfield Cardinals. The home opener was on April 10, 2006, with the Cardinals winning 6 to 4 against the Milwaukee Brewers. A week later, Albert Pujols hit three homers in a row to defeat the Cincinnati Reds.
From June 20–June 28, the Cardinals suffered an eight game losing streak, their longest since July 4–July 15, 1988. This was in large part due to a slump in their starting pitching, and various injuries to Albert Pujols, David Eckstein, Jim Edmonds, and Mark Mulder. A second eight game losing streak occurred from July 27–August 4.
In late September, with a lead of seven and a half games over the Cincinnati Reds, and eight and a half games over the Houston Astros, the Cardinals lost seven straight games, and the Astros won nine straight, giving the Cardinals a lead of only one-half game over the Astros, and two and a half games over the Reds. On the last day of the regular season, despite a 5–3 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers, featuring 9th inning home runs by Chris Duncan, Albert Pujols, and Scott Spiezio, the Cardinals clinched the NL Central title, with the Astros' loss to Atlanta 3–1.
Read more about this topic: History Of The St. Louis Cardinals, 2000s and Beyond