The Chicago Cubs would love nothing more than to spoil the playoff hopes of the St. Louis Cardinals. However, that is going to be very hard as St. Louis comes into Wrigley Field as one of the hottest teams in the league right now.
They also have one of the hottest players in the league right now in Albert Pujols. You’d think that MVP candidates like Paul Goldschmidt or Nolan Arenado would be mentioned there but Pujols has been just as good as those guys over the last few weeks.
Pujols is closing in on his 700th career home run as he entered this series with 692. Well, he hit his 693rd at Wrigley Field on Monday and now only needs seven more to reach that impressive milestone that only three before him have ever reached (Barry Bonds, Hank Aaron, and Babe Ruth).
The home run was a solo shot that put the Cardinals ahead of the Cubs by a score of 1-0 in the 7th inning. St. Louis would hold onto that lead and win 1-0 on the back of that Pujols solo shot. It was a tough break for the Cubs but it is baseball acting all romantic again.
Jordan Montgomery also had an impressive game for the St. Louis Cardinals. He pitched a complete game shutout and only allowed one hit. It was an amazing performance for him as he seems to have really found it with the Cardinals since coming over from the New York Yankees.
The Chicago Cubs allowed home run number 693 to Albert Pujols on Monday.
There is also another twist to the Pujols side of the story. He has Alex Rodriguez in his way of 700 career home runs as he hit 696 in his career. He needs three more to tie him and four more to pass. That will put him in 4th place on the all-time list.
Pujols, as Cubs fans know, started his career with the Cardinals. He played there from 2001-2011. He then signed with the Los Angeles Angels and played there from 2012-2021 (he was traded to the Dodgers at the end of 2021).
He then signed a one-year deal with the Cardinals and announced he would end his career after one final year where it all started. Well, the season didn’t start off amazing for him but he has been red hot lately. Now, the 700 mark is within reach.
This home run on Monday was the 58th that Pujols has ever hit against the Chicago Cubs. That is the second most against any team he has faced. The only team that he has hit more against is the Houston Astros who were in his division with both the Cardinals and Angels (they switched to the American League West from the National League Central in 2013).
Pujols has been an amazing player in his career and a lot of damage was done against the Cubs. It will be interesting to see how much more damage he can do against them in this series. Getting those final seven home runs is going to be tough but he just might be able to do it.
