by Cary Osborne
Albert Pujols said it will take a few days before the moment will resonate with him. He’ll see a highlight of what he did on Tuesday night in St. Louis, where he began his legendary career and excelled for 11 seasons, and then get the same feeling others at Busch Stadium and watching on television got when the 41-year-old hit a home run in the first inning.
Just like on June 22, 2019, when he hit a home run in his second game returning to St. Louis as an Angel.
He did one better on this return.
In his first game playing in St. Louis since that moment, Pujols swung and connected on a J.A. Happ sinker, his top hand leaving the bat at the point of contact, and muscled the ball over the wall in left field for a solo home run.
“It was pretty special,” Pujols said. “Anytime that you come over here in St. Louis with the history that I have playing here and the fans, it just really was a great moment, and once again to be able to deliver like that in the first at-bat was huge, especially when we have our bullpen going. We want to make sure we score some runs early so that way they can have a cushion.”
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Pujols, who moments before the home run received a standing ovation from the Busch Stadium crowd, hit one of four Dodger home runs on the night, giving a big cushion for the Dodgers in a bullpen game. The Dodgers, who also got a pair of homers from Justin Turner, won 7–2.
“Storybook,” was how manager Dave Roberts described Pujols’ homer. “It’s one of those things that you hope could happen, but the likelihood is very improbable. So, to play out like that, getting a standing ovation, then hitting the homer that first at-bat, storybook. And I’m a big believer that the game honors you. And the way Albert’s played the game for so long the right way, that’s the way it was supposed to work out.”
Pujols, who won three MVPs and two World Series titles with the Cardinals during an incredible run from 2001–2011, didn’t appear in Monday’s opener in St. Louis but heard the crowd chant: “We want Albert!” He rewarded their loyalty with the homer — his 12th as a Dodger and 679th of his career.
“It was pretty surreal for him to come back, get the ovation and then give the people what they wanted. They wanted to see Albert hit a homer, and he didn’t waste any time,” Turner said.
Turner hit a pair of them. He socked his first home run since Aug. 15 with a solo blast in the fifth inning off Happ that gave the Dodgers a 4–2 lead. In the ninth, he hit a two-run homer against reliever Kwang Hyun Kim.
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In the sixth, Will Smith sent a 95-mph fastball at the top of the zone from reliever Alex Reyes over the wall in left field to give the Dodgers a 5–2 lead. It was Smith’s 12th home run off a fastball at the top of the zone this year — tied for second most in the Majors to Marcus Semien’s 13.
Smith went 4-for-4 in the game with three infield singles. His single in the fourth inning was sandwiched between a single by Corey Seager and an RBI-double by Steven Souza Jr. Souza’s hit tied the score at 2–2, then Cody Bellinger drove in a run with an RBI groundout to give the Dodgers a 3–2 lead.
After an August in which the Dodgers has a 2.25 ERA, they have a 2.14 ERA through six September games. Two of those games, including Tuesday night, have been bullpen games. Dodger pitchers have allowed three earned runs in 19 2/3 innings in those games.
The Dodgers used nine pitchers in a line that started with Corey Knebel in the first inning and ended with Neftali Feliz in the ninth.
The Cardinals scored off the first two Dodger pitchers with a sacrifice fly by Nolan Arenado off Knebel in the first and an RBI single by Arenado off Evan Phillips in the third. The latter gave the Cardinals a 2–1 lead at the time.
The Cardinals went 3-for-22 and put one runner in scoring position against the Dodgers’ final seven pitchers.
“Our bullpen has done an unbelievable job, and Doc has been doing an outstanding job and (pitching coach) Mark (Prior) mixing and matching and knowing what guys to bring in,” Pujols said. “It’s not easy, and these guys are taking the ball out there and doing an outstanding job and pitching like there’s no tomorrow. For us to accomplish another championship like this city wants and this organization wants we’re going to need the help of our bullpen, and they’re doing an unbelievable job.”
Kershaw’s Rehab Start
Clayton Kershaw struck out the first batter he faced swinging in the first, second and third innings for Triple-A Oklahoma City on Tuesday. After allowing a one-out single in the second inning, he surrendered a two-run home run to Albuquerque catcher Brian Serven. Kershaw went three innings, allowed four hits and the two earned runs, struck out three and walked none. He threw 49 pitches, 34 for strikes.
“I think with the timing of the calendar and things like that I think by the time October rolls around I should be up to 100 pitches or so, which is the goal,” Kershaw said. “But it’s going to take some work. Got to keep going and got to keep building. The buildup process is definitely not over yet.”
Roberts said Kershaw will return to the Dodgers and throw a bullpen session next.
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Pujols gives the people what they want: a storybook homer was originally published in Dodger Insider on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.
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