SAN LUIS – In addition to being one of the most productive hitters in Cardinals history, the Dominican Albert Pujols He also rose to fame thanks to that innate ability to respond to the important moments time and time again.
One of those moments occurred on Sunday afternoon. And, once again, Pujols rose to the occasion.
Pinch-hitting in the bottom of the eighth inning and with the game tied at scoreless, Albert Pujols hit his 695th career home run to help the Cardinals beat the Cubs 2-0 at Busch Stadium. The 429-foot shot, according to the Statcast projection, left him one homer away from matching Alex Rodríguez in the ranked fourth all time.
Also, the shot off left-hander Brandon Hughes extended his record for home runs against 451 different pitchers. He had already passed Barry Bonds for the record when he dumped it Monday at Cincinnati.
In what will likely be the last at-bat of his career against the Cubs, Pujols hit his 16th home run of the season. He was also the seventh pinch-hit homer in his illustrious 22-year career, including two this season for the Cardinals. On August 18, Pujols hit a grand slam – his first coming off the bench – in a 13-0 blowout against the Rockies.
Pujols’ home run was key as the Cardinals swept Chicago for the second time this season.
Source: MLB
