Albert Pujols is ending his career on a high note.
A day after tying Alex Rodriguez for fourth on MLB’s all-time leaderboard, the 42-year-old took sole possession with his 697th career home run.
Catching A-Rod seemed unfathomable when ending July with seven home runs. However, The Machine has since discovered the Fountain of Youth, crushing 11 long balls in 32 games.
Even better, this two-run blast put the St. Louis Cardinals ahead in the top of the ninth inning. They earned a 4-3 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Pujols now has three weeks to join Barry Bonds, Henry Aaron, and Babe Ruth in the elusive 700 club. What seemed impossible for most of the season suddenly seems like a realistic outcome.
The MLB world is in awe of Pujols’ summer surge.
While Father Time caught up to Pujols a while ago, he’s turned back the clock to bat .266/.338/.528 with 18 home runs in just 287 plate appearances.
Having bolstered their NL Central lead, the Cardinals can give the retiring slugger more starts to chase the benchmark. The way he’s hitting, Pujols is currently their best option at designated hitter anyway.
St. Louis has 21 games left this season. Pujols has earned the opportunity to lock down 700 home runs before drawing some important plate appearances in the playoffs.