Albert Pujols hit his 697th home run, moving past Alex Rodriguez into fourth place on the career list and doing it in dramatic fashion with a ninth-inning drive that rallied the visiting St. Louis Cardinals over the Pittsburgh Pirates 4-3 on Sunday.
The National League Central-leading Cardinals trailed 2-1 when Pujols connected for a two-run drive.
The Machine cranks out no. 697 for the lead in the 9th!!! <a href=”https://t.co/bVQXckoAdz”>pic.twitter.com/bVQXckoAdz</a>
—@MLB
Pujols trails Barry Bonds (762), Hank Aaron (755) and Babe Ruth (714) on the all-time homer chart.
The 42-year-old Pujols has 21 games left in his 22nd and final season in the big leagues.
The Cardinals went to the ninth inning trailing 2-0 but scored four runs off Chase DeJong (4-2).
St. Louis had been shut out on three hits through the first eight innings but rallied for their eighth win in their last 11 games. The Pirates missed a chance to win their first series since sweeping Milwaukee from Aug. 2-4.
The Cardinals clinched their 15th consecutive winning season Saturday night with a 7-5 victory over the Pirates. That ties the franchise record set from 1939-53.
Pujols hit his 696th homer to tie Rodriguez.
6⃣9⃣6⃣ <a href=”https://t.co/ofsJ2NvEkz”>pic.twitter.com/ofsJ2NvEkz</a>
—@MLB
With St. Louis trailing 3-1 in the sixth inning, Pujols connected on a first-pitch slider from JT Brubaker. He sent a two-run shot 418 feet into the left-field bleachers at PNC Park, launched with an exit velocity of 111.2 miles per hour.
His RBI single in the eighth made it 4-4.
Up next
The Cardinals are off Monday before opening a three-game home series with Milwaukee on Tuesday. Left-hander Jordan Montgomery (8-3, 3.08) will start for St. Louis.
He is 5-0 with a 1.45 earned-run average in seven starts since being acquired from the New York Yankees in a trade.
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