http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/recap?gameId=230928129 PHOENIX (AP) -- Albert Pujols went 2-for-5 to win the closest NL batting race in NL history, barely holding off Todd Helton as the St. Louis Cardinals beat Arizona 9-5 in their season finale. Pujols finished at .3587 while Helton hit .3585 for Colorado -- a difference of .00022 that was so slight one more hit would've won it for the Rockies' star. Pujols had an infield single in the third inning, then doubled in the seventh. He struck out looking in the eighth. Helton went 2-for-4 in the Rockies' 10-8 win at San Diego. He was intentionally walked in the eighth inning. Going into the day, Pujols led Helton by .35836 to .35751. The previous tightest NL edge came in 1931 when St. Louis' Chick Hafey beat New York's Bill Terry by .00028, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. Overall, it was the majors' third-closest finish for a batting title. In 1945, the Yankees' Snuffy Stirnweiss beat Tony Cuccinello of the White Sox by .00009 in the AL. In 1949, Detroit's George Kell edged Boston's Ted Williams by .00016. Pujols is the youngest player to win the NL batting title since Tommy Davis of Los Angeles in 1962. The St. Louis star is 23 years, 255 days and Davis was 23 years, 196 days. Pujols also is the first right-hander to win the NL title since Andres Galarraga in 1993. Mark Grace ended his major league career after 16 seasons by playing 1 1/3 innings at first base for Arizona. He came into the game to a huge ovation at the start of the sixth inning, then was pulled after one out in the seventh. Grace, one of baseball's most popular players, received a long, standing ovation as he left the field, coming out of the dugout to wave to the crowd in a curtain call. He was the last to leave the field at game's end after a hug from St. Louis manager Tony La Russa. Woody Williams pitched six innings, plus two batters, to earn his career-best 18th victory. He shut out Arizona for six innings, but gave up a two-run homer to Steve Finley in the seventh. Williams (18-9), 4-1 in his last five starts, allowed two runs on eight hits, struck out two and walked three, one intentionally. Diamondbacks rookie Brandon Webb (10-9) had his second straight rough outing, allowing six runs on five hits in four innings. He finished the season with a 2.84 ERA, fourth-best in the league. Jim Edmonds was 2-for-4 with a double and a 410-foot, three-run homer off Webb in the third inning. It was Edmonds' 39th home run. So Taguchi hit a three-run homer for St. Louis in the seventh. Arizona's Alex Cintron was 4-for-5. He finished the season with seven consecutive hits, tying a club record. The Cardinals won nine of their last 12 and took their final four series.< ^Note Williams joined Atlanta's Russ Ortiz and Chicago's Mark Prior as the only NL pitchers to win at least 18 games. ... Arizona's Carlos Baerga set a franchise record with his 19th pinch hit. ... La Russa and catcher Mike Matheny were back after serving a two-game suspension for their roles in last weekend's run-in with umpire Jerry Crawford in Houston. Pitching coach Dave Duncan served his one-game suspension for the same incident on Sunday. ... Webb allowed nine earned runs in his last eight innings.
