It came as quite a surprise to me that Albert Pujols (shown above throwing one of the first pitches in the new Busch) was in the starting lineup on Thursday. What didn’t come as a surprise to me was that he went 0-4 in the game. There is no way anyone can come back from two-three weeks away from playing baseball without seeing any live pitching and be successful. Even Albert himself stated that it would be a week or so before he got his timing down. Ladies and gentlemen, I hate to say it, but Albert lied.
Albert started his day off patiently, drawing a walk in the first. Later in the game, he got his first base hit after coming off the DL. That single was followed by a line drive out to right field in his next at-bat, or so we thought. Off the bat I thought it was gone, but Magglio Ordonez caught the ball, but after hitting the outfield wall during the catch he dropped it. Pujols, thinking the ball was caught, didn’t get around first base in any hurry. Luckily, he slid into second base and was safe. Unfortunately, he slid past the ball and was tagged out. They gave him a double, though. In his next at-bat, Albert hit another single. So far on the day, he was 3-3 with a walk.
Finally, in the top of the ninth, as the Cardinals’ struggles continued (The Tigers were up 10-5), Albert came up to the plate with two outs. He has had success against the Detroit pitcher Todd Jones, being 4-5 with two homers. He was waiting on the right pitch. I’d say he got it.
"He got all of that pitch! It’s back, back, and kiss it goodbye! Welcome back, Albert Pujols! That solo shot puts him back in the Major League lead with 26 homers…what a day for Albert Pujols, what a day!"
Going 4-4 with two singles, a double, a solo home run, and a walk is a great performance. Albert finished a triple shy of the cycle. Unfortunately, this was all in a losing effort. The American League is simply dominating the National League this year. One good note about the Cardinals’ horrid performance on this road trip as that the AL won’t be holding down Mr. Pujols. He’s back and here to stay. Timing be darned. He doesn’t need to work on timing any more, after tonight’s game, he’s on FIRE.
Written by APC Staff Writer Brady Holzhauer