ST. LOUIS — St. Louis Cardinals slugger Albert Pujols hit his 698th career home run Friday night in a 6-5 win over the Cincinnati Reds.
With one out in the sixth inning, Pujols, 42, swung at the first pitch from reliever Raynel Espinal, an 84 mph slider, and launched a 427-foot shot out to left field. The crowd was already on its feet in anticipation, and Pujols rounded the bases to a tremendous cheer.
Pujols is fourth on the all-time list, trailing only Barry Bonds (762), Hank Aaron (755) and Babe Ruth (714).
The homer, which had an exit velocity of 106.3 mph, was Pujols’ 19th of the season, the second-most in a season for a player 42 years or older. He has 12 home runs since Aug. 10, one behind Aaron Judge and Eugenio Suarez for the most in MLB over that span.
The two-run shot tied the score at 4-4 and gave Pujols a six-game RBI streak, his longest since 2017. He upped his career total to 2,203 RBIs, moving him within 11 of Ruth for second all time, behind Aaron’s 2,297.