NEW YORK -- TV cameras picked up on Albert Pujols wincing and reaching for his side during an early at-bat Tuesday night.

But the three-time MVP and career .331 hitter said stiffness in that area had nothing to do with his fifth 0-for-5 game of the season.

Pujols said he felt some stiffness in his side "after the day off" -- which was devoted to an appearance on David Letterman's "Late Show" -- and that it loosened during Tuesday's game.

He stayed in the game, and joked that his swing and miss on Francisco Rodriguez's fastball to end the game was proof he wasn't injured.

He also said he's not searching, even though he's in a 1-for-20 slide that has dropped his average to .296. Over the last 10 games, Pujols is batting .147 (5 for 34).

"Look at my third at-bat: I smoked the ball right at" third baseman David Wright, Pujols said.

"I'm putting good swings on it. It's easy to get frustrated when you're seeing the ball and you put a good swing on it and nothing happens. That's what I'm good at -- mentally. That's not going to get to me."

Pujols was at the nexus of several of the Cardinals' near-rallies in the 8-2 loss. In the first inning, Wright made a slick play on Pujols' sharp grounder after the first two Cardinals reached with singles. In the seventh, Pujols flew out after Felipe Lopez and Jon Jay again reached base with no outs.

Mets starter Jon Niese said, "We had a plan before the game on how to get all of their hitters out, especially (Pujols). We tried not to let him beat us. It's kind of comforting that the plan worked."