Albert Pujols continued his chase for 700 career home runs last night in Denver.
The St. Louis Cardinals took it right to the Colorado Rockies, evening their three-game series with a 9-5 win on Wednesday night.
St. Louis busted out the lumber, and Pujols blasted home run No. 687 off of former Cardinal Austin Gomber.
What made it even sweeter was the fact that it came in the ballpark where Pujols made his debut and picked up his first career hit all those years ago.
The Cardinals fans at Coors Field went crazy for their beloved slugger as he rounded the bases following his blast.
Career HR No. 687 for Albert Pujols 😤
The Machine continues his chase for 700
(via @MLB)pic.twitter.com/znTUtlyyYH
— B/R Walk-Off (@BRWalkoff) August 11, 2022
Pujols Comes Full Circle
Everything sort of came full circle for Pujols and the Cardinals last night.
The future Hall-of-Famer made his debut at Coors Field back on April 2 of 2001, picking up his first of many hits.
Fast forward 21 years later, and Pujols, who is in the final year of his storied career, provided another historic moment at Coors, where the Cardinals fans in attendance went crazy as they witnessed The Machine hit yet another home run.
Pujols’ home run was his eighth of the season.
That put him 13 home runs away from reaching 700 for his career.
Given that Pujols’ role this season is limited to strictly left-handed pitchers, it might be hard for him to end up reaching 700 home runs.
At the very least though, Cardinals and Rockies fans alike got to experience a historic moment at Coors Field.
There’s no doubt that Pujols will end up being a first-ballot Hall-of-Famer after his career is over.
But at 42, he’s showing that he is still capable of going yard and making all of Cardinal Nation stand up and cheer.