Pujols beat HR No. 702 at-bat in St. Louis last regular season

ST. LOUIS — During his retirement ceremony ahead of his final game of the regular season at Busch Stadium on Sunday, Cardinals superstar slugger Albert Pujols told the sold-out crowd how he wondered what he was doing as he headed back into that final season when he was in the April and May fought and June.

Then the deeply religious Pujols said he was struck by a realization.

“I knew there was no way the good Lord was going to bring me back to St. Louis to embarrass me,” Pujols said candidly.

The 42-year-old Pujols continued his hot tear in the second half as he hit the No. 702 home run of his illustrious career in the 7-5 loss to the Cards. Pujols jumped on a 92.9 mph fastball from Pirates right-hander Roansy Contreras and drilled him a Statcast-projected 409 feet in the midfield hitter’s eye. As in the previous month, Busch Stadium’s 29th sell-out crowd of the season called for a curtain call, and Pujols complied by coming out of the dugout and removing his helmet in front of the crowd.

Pujols only had two homers in April and two in May, and in June he went homeless. He’s since reached 19, 17 of which came after the MLB All-Star Game, an event where Pujols was an honorary attendee, and he’s been showered with praise from the game’s players and managers. He also upset top seed Kyle Schwarber in the first round of the Home Run Derby.

Contreras is the 457th major league pitcher that Pujols has shot down. He came into the 2022 season behind Barry Bonds in that stat, but he easily passed the former Pirates/Giants slugger to get in first.

Pujols, who was seeded at first base and No. 3 overall by nostalgia-loving manager Oliver Marmol, was honored before the game along with retired catcher Yadier Molina from the Cardinals. Pujols is finishing his 22nd season while 40-year-old Molina is in his 19th season – all with the Cardinals.

Marmol said as he beat Pujols to third and drafted him as a starting first baseman on Sunday, “It feels really right.”

During his career, Pujols has hit 484 homers while playing first base — far more than the 119 he hit as a DH. Also, Pujols’ home runs hit a whopping 505 while he finished third – 374 more than any other place on the lineup.

Pujols, Molina and starting pitcher Adam Wainwright were all put out along with two outs in the fifth inning. Wainwright, who has been struggling for the last month, had another rocky outing when he gave up six runs with six hits and two walks over 4 2/3 innings. Wainwright and Molina earned their Major League-record 328th and final starts together in a regular-season game. The three players received a thunderous ovation as they left the field together.

With a standing ovation before he even reached the batter’s box, Pujols doubled in two runs in his first at-bat in the first inning. Then, in the third inning, Pujols delighted the thousands of standing fans with their cell phones raised in the air to record the moment he tied the game at 4. Incredibly, seven of Pujols’ last nine home runs have either tied the game or jumped the Cardinals into the lead.

Pujols joined Bonds (762 home runs), Hank Aaron (755) and Babe Ruth (714) as the sole members of the exclusive 700 Home Run Club last Friday night at Dodger Stadium. That night, Pujols hit homers 699 (by left-hander Andrew Heaney) and 700 (by right-hander Phil Bickford) to the delight of fans at the stadium he was home to for most of last season. These blasts got him 500 against righties – now 502 – and 200 against lefties.

Pujols hit the No. 701 home run in Busch Friday night to level the game after the Cardinals fell into a 1-0 hole. Home runs on Friday and Sunday gave Pujols 216 career runs at St. Louis — 122 at Busch Stadium III and 94 at Busch Stadium II. He has hit 333 home runs at his home stadium and 369 on the road.

Pujols’ Sunday homer, which left the bat at 105.3 mph and had a 4.9-second hangtime according to Statcast, was the 56th homer of Pujols’ career against the Pirates and his sixth this season against rivals Pittsburgh. That’s his third-best against any opponent, behind only the Astros (62) and the Cubs (59).