Cardinals’ Albert Pujols hits home run No. 701 in final regular season home stand
St. Louis Cardinals great Albert Pujols is not done adding to his already incredible legacy.
A week after becoming just the fourth player in baseball history to hit 700 home runs in a career, Pujols hit home run No. 701 in front of his home crowd at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, Missouri.
Pujols’ 701st home run came in the bottom of the fourth inning on a 1-2 pitch from Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Johan Oveido in the final regular season home stand of Pujols’ career.
Pujols came out of the Cardinals’ dugout for a curtain call, tipping his cap to the fans who have supported him for so many years.
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“It’s pretty awesome to get back here, because I knew it was going to be like this,” Pujols said, according to MLB.com. “It’s pretty good to be embraced by the fans like this. This is what I’ve been getting all year, but tonight was extra-special after reaching the milestone of 700.
“It was a great night overall – a night I shared with my teammates, my family that were in the stands and, obviously, we came out with a huge win.”
While the next two games with be the final two regular season games at home for the Cardinals, St. Louis will still have a chance to watch Pujols in the postseason.
The Cardinals have clinched the top spot in the NL Central.
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“Hopefully, my last game is going to be in November in the World Series,” Pujols said Friday. “So, I don’t think about [this final regular-season series] like that. Hopefully, we have a lot of games left.”
Cardinals pitcher Jack Flaherty threw six innings of four-hit ball, allowing just one earned run in the 2-1 win.
“I’m just getting more into a groove the more times [I] get out there. We’re just continuing to execute pitches, and it feels great,” Flaherty said.
The Cardinals have two more games with the Pirates at home before heading to Pittsburgh for the final three-game series of the regular season.
The Associated Press contributed to this report
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