WASHINGTON (AP) ― Heading toward the plate after the 500th homer of this career, Albert Pujols glanced ahead and saw a throng of Los Angeles Angels teammates waiting right there to greet him.
He was pleased by the outpouring of support. He also had a message.
“I was pretty emotional running the bases and when I ... looked at all these guys coming out, it was hard,” Pujols said. “But I just told them, ‘We’ve got a game to win.’”
Not a problem, especially with Pujols hitting like the Pujols of old. Continuing a strong stretch, the Angels first baseman became the first major leaguer to hit his 499th and 500th homers in the same game, driving in five runs Tuesday night to help Los Angeles beat the Washington Nationals 7-2.
“I knew this year, it was going to happen, whether it was tonight, tomorrow, two months from now,” Pujols said. “So my goal was just to prepare myself every day to try to help this organization win.”
The three-time NL MVP connected twice off right-hander Taylor Jordan (0-3) ― a three-run homer in the first inning and two-run drive in the fifth. He’s the 26th player in big league history to reach the milestone.
Pujols also hit his 400th homer at Nationals Park.
“I admire the man. I admire his ability and the way he goes about playing the game, and I have for some time,” said Washington manager Matt Williams, who also played against Pujols.
“I just wish he’d do it against somebody else.”
Pujols is the first player to collect his 499th and 500th homers in the same game, according to STATS.
Ryu Hyun-jin gets no-decisionRyu Hyun-jin of the Los Angeles Dodgers took a no-decision after laboring through a mediocre outing against the Philadelphia Phillies at home on Tuesday.
Ryu pitched six innings and gave up two runs on a season-high nine hits. He walked two and struck out three, and left the game with the Dodgers trailing 2-1.
Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Ryu Hyun-jin delivers against the Philadelphia Phillies in the first inning on Tuesday night. (AP-Yonhap)
The Dodgers let the South Korean left-hander off the hook, as pinch hitter Justin Turner delivered a game-tying single in the bottom of the seventh.
The Phillies went on to defeat the Dodgers 3-2 in 10 innings.
Ryu stayed at 3-1 for the season and his ERA went up slightly from 1.93 to 2.12 after Tuesday.
Before the game, Ryu hadn’t given up an earned run in four of his first five starts. (Yonhap)
Choo Shin-soo sits out with injuryChoo Shin-soo of the Texas Rangers sat out an away game against the Oakland Athletics on Tuesday local time, after spraining his left ankle a day earlier.
Choo was taken out of the game against the A’s on Monday after stepping hard on the first base trying to beat out an infield single. An MRI revealed no structural damage, and the Rangers said Choo’s sprain wasn’t a serious one.
Michael Choice took Choo’s usual spot in left field and in the leadoff spot on Tuesday. The Rangers beat the A’s 5-4. “A long season,” Choo was quoted as saying on ESPN.com. “I don’t want to make it worse. Probably playoffs, it would be a different story, but in the season we’ve got a long ways to go.” (Yonhap)
Kansas City 8, Cleveland 2
Cincinnati 4, Pittsburgh 1
Toronto 9, Baltimore 3
Detroit 8, Chicago White Sox 6
NY Yankees 9, Boston 3
Miami 1, Atlanta 0
St. Louis 3, NY Mets 0
Tampa Bay 7, Minnesota 3
Chicago Cubs 9, Arizona 2
San Diego 2, Milwaukee 1
Colorado 2, San Francisco 1
Houston 5, Seattle 2