 Albert Pujols struggled through a most uncharacteristic slump at the start of the season, going a career-worst 105 at-bats without a home run and finishing May with an unusually low .755 OPS for the first two months.Tony La Russa, suffering from a severe case of shingles, missed six games, with bench coach Joe Pettini serving as acting manager.Albert Pujols broke out of his season-long slump in style, hitting five home runs in the week that ended June 5 and winning NL Player of the Week honors.