Cardinals Slugger Albert Pujols Near ‘700 Club’ with 698th Home Run

Albert Pujols inching closer to joining the MLB’s 700 club…

The 42-year-old Dominican-American professional baseball first baseman and designated hitter for the St. Louis Cardinal hit his 698th career home run on Friday night in a 6-5 win over the Cincinnati Reds.

Albert PujolsWith one out in the sixth inning, Pujols swung at the first pitch from reliever Raynel Espinal, an 84 mph slider, and launched a 427-foot shot out to left field.

The crowd was already on its feet in anticipation, and Pujols rounded the bases to a tremendous cheer.

Pujols is fourth on the all-time list, trailing only Barry Bonds (762), Hank Aaron (755) and Babe Ruth (714).

The homer, which had an exit velocity of 106.3 mph, was Pujols’ 19th of the season, the second-most in a season for a player 42 years or older. He has 12 home runs since August 10, one behind Aaron Judge and Eugenio Suarez for the most in Major League Baseball over that span.

The two-run shot tied the score at 4-4 and gave Pujols a six-game RBI streak, his longest since 2017. He upped his career total to 2,203 RBIs, moving him within 11 of Ruth for second all time, behind Aaron’s 2,297.