In what will very likely end up being his final at-bat against the Chicago Cubs, Cardinals slugger Albert Pujols hit the 695th career of his illustrious career in dramatic fashion on Sunday afternoon.
Pujols came to bat with a runner on in the eighth inning in a 0-0 tie. He was a pinch hitter. Cue the fireworks:
That’s career blast number 695 for Pujols. The all-time leaderboard now reads:
- Barry Bonds, 762
- Hank Aaron, 755
- Babe Ruth, 714
- Alex Rodriguez, 696
- Albert Pujols, 695
The homer, of course, was also a huge deal in the game on Sunday, propelling the Cardinals to yet another victory. They are now 3-0 in September after a 22-7 August and are 29-11 since the All-Star break. At the All-Star break, Pujols said that his biggest goal this season was to help bring another World Series championship to St. Louis. He’s now hitting .373 with 10 homers in 83 at-bats since then.
The Cardinals’ division lead had ballooned to 7 1/2 games before Sunday’s action, too.
The chase to 700 will continue on Monday when the Cardinals face the Nationals in Busch Stadium.
As for the Cubs, this was the final game of the season between the NL Central rivals. Pujols has perhaps terrorized the Cubs more than any other team in his career. The blast Sunday marked the 59th homer of his career against the Cubs in 701 at-bats. He only homered more times against the Astros, but remember the overlap of the Astros in the NL Central and then AL West (when Pujols played for the Angels). He hit 62 homers in 1117 at-bats against the Astros.
