UPDATE: The St. Louis Cardinals announced that Pujols will be activated before tonight's game against the Reds. He will not start but will be available to pinch hit. Today was the first day Pujols was eligible to come off the disabled list.

Albert Pujols may be back in the lineup tonight, just 16 days after the three-time MVP sustained a broken wrist that was supposed to sideline him for six weeks.

And that's not even the most amazing development to come out of the NL Central these days.

The rampaging Pittsburgh Pirates strengthened their claim as the league's biggest surprise of the season by finally climbing to three games over .500 in their ninth attempt, beating the Houston Astros 5-3.

It was the Pirates' ninth win in their last 13 games and it kept them 1½ games behind the division-leading St. Louis Cardinals, the closest to first place Pittsburgh has been this late in the season since 1997.

Rookies Alex Presley and Chase D'Arnaud, who combined for five hits against the Astros, are among the youngsters who have given the formerly sad-sack Pirates a boost. Fans have noticed and have responded with four consecutive sellout crowds at PNC Park, a first in the ballpark's history.

"The energy and attitude is completely different,'' said Presley, an outfielder who played in 19 September games for the Pirates last season. "We had already been eliminated when I got called up. Now, we're (a game and a half) out of first place and we feel like we're going to win every time out. It's fun and just totally different.''

The Pirates are closing out the first half this week with three games against the Astros, who have the worst record in the majors at 29-57, then three more against the Chicago Cubs, who are only marginally better at 35-51.

It's part of a stretch of 15 games in a row against division rivals, with the biggest test coming in the final three when the Cardinals visit PNC on July 22-24.

By then, Pujols may have fully regained his form. As it is, the Cardinals have recovered from the initial shock of losing him. They dropped five of their first six following Pujols' injury but are now 6-7 in his absence.

On Monday, St. Louis got its third consecutive outstanding performance from Chris Carpenter in edging the Cincinnati Reds 1-0.

Pujols, who sustained the injury in a first-base collision with the Kansas City Royals' Wilson Betemit on June 19, said the wrist feels good and he has been swinging a bat for a week. He is scheduled for an examination today and the results may determine whether he can rejoin the lineup right away.

"I can't wait to get back on the field,'' Pujols said. "Hopefully, it can be (today). If it's not, whenever the time comes will be the right time to play.''

Manager Tony La Russa said he would not wait until after next week's All-Star Game to activate Pujols if the sluggers deems himself ready.

"You listen to the experts. You listen to him because you trust him," La Russa said. "If he's ready, there's no need to wait. Most of all, you listen to him because he's going to know best."