SAN DIEGO -- Mark Mulder, Albert Pujols and rookie John Gall helped spoil Phil Nevin's surprise 2005 catching debut on Tuesday night as the St. Louis Cardinals handed the San Diego Padres their season-high eighth straight loss, 4-2, at PETCO Park.

Mulder (12-5) threw shutout ball into the sixth inning, Pujols hit his 27th home run off Padres starter Woody Williams (5-7) and Gall, called up from Memphis on Tuesday, got his first two Major League hits and scored his first two runs for the Cardinals, who boast the NL's best record at 63-36.

Xavier Nady had a perfect night, going 3-for-3 with a walk and a run scored for the Padres, who despite dropping to .500 at 50-50, still lead the NL West by three games over Arizona and four over the Dodgers.

Nevin, who vetoed a trade to the Baltimore Orioles on Monday, was the Padres' starting catcher and cleanup hitter, filling in for the injured Ramon Hernandez.

After being cheered when introduced before his first at-bat Nevin drew a walk in the first inning. However, he bounced out to third with two runners on in the third inning, grounded into a 6-4-3 double play with two runners on in the fifth, popped up with a runner on in the seventh and lined out to left with a runner on in the ninth for the final out of the game. More boos followed each successive at-bat.

"It wasn't quite the story book ending," said Nevin after a long emotion-charged three days. "There were a lot of cheers early on and that was nice to hear.

"I had no idea what to expect," Nevin continued. "These fans here have been great. When I was out in the bullpen [before the game] they were showing a lot of support. It was pretty fitting that I came up there [representing the tying run]. I figured that was going to happen. I just missed it. I lined it right at him. Too bad I didn't get a little back spin and hit that out."

With Brian Giles on first following a walk, Nevin lined a shot off Cardinals closer Jason Isringhausen that John Rodriguez snared.

"I know it's going to sound crazy, but tonight offensively is as good as I've felt in a long time," said Nevin, whose line was 0-for-4 with a walk, stranding six runners. "It might have had something to do with my legs being a little shaky, slowing my swing down. It felt like each at-bat got better. It's something to build on.

"I'd like to say it's going to come overnight, but that's not the way it works," Nevin said. "I just wish the outcome were better. It would have made for a better story."

"I thought Phil did a nice job behind the plate," said Padres manager Bruce Bochy. "His first game back there I thought he received well, and Woody [Williams] looked comfortable throwing to him. He did a nice job.

"Phil's been through a lot in the last couple of days," Bochy said, "but he's got a toughness about him that if anybody can handle what's happened in the last two, three days, he can. He came to the ballpark upbeat, ready to go and he dealt with the situation very well."

Williams, who gave up four runs on nine hits in six innings, was pretty happy with his new receiver.

"Phil did a good job," said Williams. "He was a little rusty, but all in all, I think he did a pretty good job back there.

"I just let him know that tomorrow's another day," Williams added. "It's pretty hard when you're in his situation -- putting a lot of pressure to do as much as you can for this team, not knowing what's going to happen. It's definitely a hard time for him."

As for pitching against his former team, was that more motivation?

"When you've lost seven games in a row, you're motivated for every game," Williams said. "They battled me and won out. On Pujols' homer, it was a two-seamer that was coming in. It didn't catch much of the plate -- it was just a hair up -- but that's why he's probably the best player there is."

Williams pitched for the Cardinals from August 2000 -- when the Padres traded him to St. Louis for outfielder Ray Lankford -- through the end of last season. In 92 starts with the Cards, Williams went 45-22 with a 3.53 ERA.

"We did generate more opportunities tonight," said Bochy, "And we were a hit away from a big inning. They got the big inning [with three runs] in the sixth and we didn't."

The Cardinals used five relievers, with Isringhausen picking up his 28th save.

Paul Quantrill and Akinori Otsuka combined for three innings of scoreless relief for the Padres.