Albert Pujols leads Cardinals to victory with 693rd career home run, his seventh in the last 12 days

Just a few weeks ago, the chances of Albert Pujols reaching the career mark of 700 home runs was pretty far-fetched. He is in the midst of a surge right now and it’s starting to come into view, however. 

Monday against the Cubs, Pujols homered again. 

As noted in the tweet and on the highlight, that is the 693rd home run in the illustrious career of Pujols. 

We’ll get to the career statistical implications in a second. First up, though, let’s note that the Cardinals won the game, 1-0. Pujols’ solo homer was the only run in the Cardinals’ eighth straight win. They are 16-3 in August and have taken total control of the NL Central. Pujols has been integral in this stretch, too. 

Pujols had 17 home runs last season but only had seven through Aug. 6 this season. At the time, it looked like his chances to catch A-Rod were in jeopardy and the 700 plateau was an incredibly tall order. He has homered seven times in the last 12 days now, pushing him up to the point where it seems like a sure bet he’ll pass A-Rod and put a realistic run at 700 on the table. 

The more lefties the Cardinals face, the better the chances get for Pujols. You’ll note that home run came off Cubs lefty Drew Smyly. Heading into Monday’s action, Pujols was slashing .388/.429/.777 against southpaws this season. 

The home run coming against the Cubs should be pretty familiar: It was the 58th of his career. He’s only hit more against the Astros, but the number there is 62 and he’s faced the Astros for more than 400 more plate appearances (remember, the Astros were in the NL Central for the start of Pujols’ career but then in the AL West when he went to the Angels). He’s also homered 30 times in 97 career games in Wrigley Field. 

The current all-time home run leaderboard: 

The Cardinals play a doubleheader in Wrigley Field on Tuesday, so he’ll likely have several chances to move on up.