Tag Archives: Oliver Marmol

Albert Pujols Hits 701st Career Home Run Against Pittsburgh Pirates

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The hits keep on comin’ for Albert Pujols…

The 42-year-old Dominican-American professional baseball player and designated hitter for the St. Louis Cardinals has hit his 701st home run, connecting Friday night in a 2-1 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Albert Pujols Pujols launched a slider from former teammate Johan Oviedo over the Big Mac Land sign in left field at Busch Stadium, his 22nd homer of the season. The solo drive in the fourth inning made it 1-all.

Pujols faced Oviedo for the first time and made the 24-year-old righty the 456th different pitcher he has homered against.

“It was a good pitch to hit and I just put the best swing on the night on it,” Pujols said. “That was it. A 1-2 count, just not trying to do too much.”

The St. Louis star hadn’t homered in a week since hitting No. 699 and 700 at Dodger Stadium last Friday. Pujols had gone 10 at-bats without a home run after two starts and one pinch-hit appearance.

The Busch Stadium crowd gave the 42-year-old Pujols a long standing ovation before he came out of the Cardinals dugout to tip his cap for a curtain call.

“It’s pretty awesome,” Pujols said. “I didn’t know it was going to be like this. It’s pretty good just to be embraced like this. I mean this is what I’ve been getting all year long but today was extra special. It was a great night overall.”

Before the game, the slugger was recognized for hitting his 700th last week at Los Angeles. He was given a gold-plated, engraved bat by owner Bill DeWitt Jr., team president Bill DeWitt III and manager Oliver Marmol.

Pujols’ homer was his 55th against the Pirates, his third most against any team, trailing Houston Astros (70) and the Chicago Cubs (62).

Pirates manager Derek Shelton took a moment to appreciate Pujols’ accomplishments.

“I think we’re seeing one of the best hitters of our generation and he’s had an unbelievable second half,” Shelton said. “You cannot make mistakes to him right now. We made the one mistake to him and he hit it out of the ballpark. What he’s done over the course of his career and especially what he’s done over the second half is extremely special.”

Pujols is fourth on the career home run list behind Barry Bonds (762), Hank Aaron (755) and Babe Ruth (714).

Albert Pujols Homers Twice to Move Up to Second on MLB’s Career List for Total Bases

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Albert Pujols has moved up a spot…

The 42-year-old Dominican–American professional baseball first baseman and designated hitter for the St. Louis Cardinals hit two more home runs on Saturday night, boosting his total to 692 and moving him past Stan Musial into second place on the career list for total bases.

Albert Pujols,Pujols connected for solo homers in the second and fourth innings against Arizona Diamondbacks left-hander Madison Bumgarner to help St. Louis win 16-7.

Pujols nearly hit a third homer, scorching a single off the base of the left field wall in the fifth. He capped his 4-for-4 night with a ground ball single through the left side of the infield in the seventh.

Pujols needs four more home runs to tie Alex Rodriguez for the No. 4 spot all-time.

“Listen to the names that we’re talking about, man,” Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said. “It’s unbelievable.”

Pujols could have had five hits, but Marmol elected to pinch hit rookie Nolan Gorman in the ninth. Nobody was cheering louder than Pujols when Gorman singled.

“That’s what you’re supposed to do in baseball, have fun,” Pujols said. “When you don’t have fun, you put too much stress on yourself. It’s a great group of guys here, so it’s pretty awesome.”

With his first homer of the game, Pujols passed Musial. The future MLB Hall of Famer now sits at 6,143 career total bases; Hank Aaron holds the record with 6,856.

Pujols has been on a roll over the past month, batting .386 with five homers over his past 16 games coming into Saturday.

The 11-time MLB All-Star drew a standing ovation before his first at-bat, and the cheers grew even louder from both Cardinals and Diamondbacks fans as the three-time MVP rounded the bases.

The slugger says this is his last season. Just a few weeks ago, 700 career homers looked out of reach, but the way he’s swinging the bat, it appears very much in play.

“That’s the hard work I put in day in and day out,” Pujols said. “Nothing surprises me.”