WASHINGTON | Albert Pujols hit his 44th home run, and Jeff Suppan took a shutout into the eighth inning Tuesday night to lead the St. Louis Cardinals to a 2-0 victory over the Washington Nationals.

Pujols’ homer was his fifth in three days — and second in as many at-bats. He pulled a flat 76 mph pitch from Pedro Astacio over the left field fence in the first inning for a solo shot.

Suppan made it stand up over 7 2-3 innings, his second scoreless outing in three starts. He blanked the Chicago Cubs for 7 2-3 innings on Aug. 25.

Suppan (11-7) allowed five hits, struck out five and walked two as the Cardinals snapped the Nationals’ five-game winning streak. He allowed two men on base in two innings, and left after Ryan Zimmerman walked and Nick Johnson singled with two outs in the eighth.

Adam Wainwright entered and hit Austin Kearns to load the bases before striking out Brian Schneider, ending another fruitless day for the Nationals when batting with runners in scoring position. Washington was 0-for-7 with runners on second and third, dropping the team’s season average to .245.

Jason Isringhausen pitched the ninth for his 33rd save in 42 opportunities.

The Cardinals added a run in the seventh when Washington second baseman Bernie Castro dropped a throw from shortstop Felipe Lopez on a potential double-play ball with the bases loaded.

Scott Rolen scored, but the rally stopped when Suppan, the next hitter, lined into a double play while attempting a squeeze bunt.

Astacio (3-5) took the loss despite pitching well after three bad outings. He allowed two runs and six hits over 6 1-3 innings and didn’t walk a batter, his best performance since throwing a shutout against Atlanta on Aug. 15.

The Nationals were again hurt by the inability to get their runners home. Lopez was stranded at third in the first, Nook Logan was left at second in the third, Kearns stood helplessly at third as the fifth came to an end, and Schneider’s swinging strikeout ended the threat in the eighth.