Albert Pujols hits a grand slam, plus the Astros score 21 runs in their win over the White Sox on this edition of FastCast. Check it out here
Albert Pujols : Grand Slam | Home run | Cardinals
José Alberto Pujols Alcántara is a Dominican–American professional baseball first baseman and designated hitter for the St. Louis Cardinals of Major League Baseball (MLB).
| Albert Pujols | |
| Born: January 16, 1980 Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic |
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Bats: Right
Throws: Right
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| MLB debut | |
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| April 2, 2001, for the St. Louis Cardinals |
Nicknamed “The Machine”, he played his first 11 seasons in MLB for the Cardinals, then played with the Los Angeles Angels for more than nine seasons before joining the Los Angeles Dodgers for half a season.
With St. Louis, Pujols was a three-time National League (NL) Most Valuable Player (MVP) (2005, 2008, 2009) and nine-time All-Star (2001, 2003–2010). After joining the Angels in 2012, he made one All-Star appearance, in 2015.
After returning to the St Louis Cardinals in 2022, he was chosen for the All-Star game as a legacy selection by the MLB Commissioner in honor of his career achievements.
Grand Slam
Albert Pujols produced a career-first as he blasted his 690th home run with a pinch-hit grand slam in the St Louis Cardinals’ 13-0 win over the Colorado Rockies on Thursday.
The 42-year-old slugger, who will retire at the end of this season, came off the bench to deliver the slam at the bottom of the third inning to extend the Cards lead to 10-0.
The 374-foot blast was Pujols’ 11th home run of the season and his 16th career grand slam, tying him with Babe Ruth, Hank Aaron and Dave Kingman at 10th overall, but it was his first ever as a pinch-hitter.
Pujols drove in five for the game, with two hits from three at-bats, as the Cards flexed their muscle with their fourth win in a row and 12th from their past 13 games.
The victory improved the Cards’ record to 66-51, to lead the Milwaukee Brewers (63-54) by three games in the National League Central division.
Albert pujols Home run
Cardinals designated hitter Albert Pujols launched the 690th home run of his career on Thursday afternoon against the Colorado Rockies (GameTracker).
Pujols’ blast, a pinch-hit grand slam, occurred in the third inning and put St. Louis up by a 10-0 mark.
According to Statcast, Pujols’ home run had an exit velocity of 105.1 mph and traveled some 374 feet. In addition to being the 16th of his career, it’s the third pinch-hit grand slam to be hit within the first three innings of a game, according to MLB’s Paul Casella.
Pujols was subbed in for Brendan Donovan as a means of gaining the platoon advantage versus left-hander Austin Gomber, a former Cardinal who was sent to Colorado as part of the Nolan Arenado trade.
Pujols, 42 years old, entered Thursday hitting .251/.330/.460 (126 OPS+) with 10 home runs and 30 runs batted in over the course of his first 67 games this year.
Cardinals
On March 28, 2022, Pujols signed a one-year contract to return to the St. Louis Cardinals, announcing that 2022 would be his final season.
He was the oldest player in the major leagues for the third season in a row.
On April 12, Pujols hit his first home run as a Cardinal in over 10 years.
On May 15, Pujols made his pitching debut, against the San Francisco Giants, the oldest player to do so since 1929.
He gave up two home runs and four earned runs in the ninth inning of a 15–6 blowout win by the Cardinals.
He became the 10th player in major league history to achieve 3,000 games played, on June 4 versus the Chicago Cubs, appearing as an injury replacement for Corey Dickerson.
Against the Tampa Bay Rays on June 7, Pujols singled for his 3,320th career hit, and passed Paul Molitor for ninth all-time in hits.
He made a rare start versus a right-handed starter on July 10, homering among three hits to help propel 4–3 win versus Philadelphia; Philadelphia had shutout St. Louis in three straight contests.
The home run was Pujols’ 1,377th extra base hit, tying him for third all-time with Musial.