St. LOUIS — Continuing to hit home runs of great significance, both in terms of historical significance and the Cardinals’ chances of a top seed in the playoffs, Albert Pujols hit his 698th career home run on Friday against the Reds
With the Cardinals up by two runs in the sixth inning, Pujols hit a hanging slider off Raynel Espinal at a Statcast-projected 427 feet. The blast, which left his bat at 106.3 miles per hour, moved the hitter to within two home runs of 700. Only three players in NL/AL history have hit 700 home runs — Barry Bonds, Hank Aaron and Babe Ruth — and Pujols is doing. a charge to join them before retiring at the end of this season. The Cardinals have 17 games left after the 6-5 win at Busch Stadium for Pujols to try to hit at least two more home runs.
Five of Pujols’ last six homers have either tied the game or given the Cardinals the lead. His mammoth shot off Espinal also extended his NL and AL record to 453 pitchers he has pitched against.
In his career, Pujols has hit 49 home runs against the Reds. That trails only the Astros (62), Cubs (59) and Pirates (54).