The incident happened in the third inning of the Cardinals' 11-3 rout at San Diego's Petco Park.

The Padres said the 6-foot-10 Young was admitted to Scripps Green Hospital in nearby Torrey Pines with a nasal fracture and a lacerated nose.

"When I hit it, I thought it was going over his head," Pujols told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. "But it hit him right in the face. There was blood all over the place and I began to pray about it and make sure it was all right."

"If he weren't so tall, the ball would have gone into center field," Cardinals Manager La Russa' title='Tony La Russa' class='tpstyle'>Tony La Russa said. "It was one of those freak things."

Later in the inning, Padres catcher Josh Bard sustained a high left ankle sprain during a play also involving Pujols.