CINCINNATI — Jarrett Hoffpauir learned quickly that when a future Hall of Famer gives you some hitting advice, you’d better take it.

Hoffpauir used the advice St. Louis Cardinals star Albert Pujols gave him and hit the game-winning single in the top of the ninth inning Friday night.

Hoffpauir was coming to bat with the bases loaded and two outs with the game tied at four when Pujols called him aside to give him some information about Reds pitcher Daniel Ray Herrara.

“When I was going to the plate, Albert called me to the side and said the changeup was (Herrara’s) best pitch,” Hoffpauir said Saturday. “He told me to stay on the ball and hit it hard somewhere. After he got me (with an 0-1 count), I figured he’d come with his best pitch. I was a little out in front on it, but luckily it found a hole.”

That single drove in two runs of what turned out to be a 7-4 Cardinals victory, and is easily the highlight of Hoffpauir’s short big league career.

“That’s kind of the moment you think about when you’re playing around in the yard,” Hoffpauir said. “Ninth inning, two outs and all that. It worked out that I was in that situation and luckily I found a way to get a hit there and put us up.”

But while Hoffpauir might have seemed calm when he was in the batter’s box, he was anything but on his way to the plate.

“I was absolutely nervous,” Hoffpauir said. “I hardly remember it. It’s kind of a blur. I had to calm myself down in the on deck circle. But once you get in there and see a pitch or two it’s all the same.”

Hoffpauir has spent four days in the Major Leagues after being called up from AAA Memphis on Wednesday.

After not playing in his first two games with the Cardinals, Hoffpauir played both Friday and Saturday.

He came on in the sixth inning to play third base Saturday and was 0-2 with a pop out and ground out in a 5-2 St. Louis loss.

However, that hasn’t dampened his enthusiasm for the Major League experience.

“It’s everything you dream of as a kid,” Hoffpauir said. “You look up and there are 40 or 50,000 people in the stadium. It’s really surreal. But the bottom line is you’re still here to help the team win and compete. The game doesn’t change, just the atmosphere.”