ST. LOUIS — Albert Pujols hit his first home run against the Chicago Cubs on May 12, 2001, off Kyle Farnsworth at Busch Stadium II. On Sunday, 7,786 days later, he capped off his career against the Cubs with one final, mighty swing.
Pujols entered Sunday's game against the Cubs at Busch Stadium III as a pinch-hitter in the eighth inning with the game tied 0-0. After fouling off the first delivery from Cubs reliever Brandon Hughes, Pujols unloaded for a tape-measure, 429-foot, two-run, go-ahead blast that ended up being the determining factor in the Cardinals' 2-0 win.
"What he's doing is absolutely incredible," Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said after the game.
It was home run No. 695 in Pujols' career, and with the Cubs out of playoff contention and not on the schedule for the rest of the season, it was his last at-bat against the Cardinals' biggest rivals.
Pujols has done considerable damage against the Cubs throughout his 21-year career in the majors.
In 199 career games against the Cubs, Pujols hit 59 home runs and drove in 149 runs. He also hit 38 doubles and scored 131 runs against the Cubs.
Coming into Sunday's game, Pujols held a career .291 average, .394 on-base percentage, .600 slugging percentage and .994 OPS against Chicago.
The Cardinals completed the sweep of the Cubs on Sunday to go 13-6 against Chicago in 2022.
Pujols is now hitting .272 with a .874 OPS on the season, which he has said will be his final in the majors.
With homer No. 695, Pujols is now just two away from passing Alex Rodriguez for fourth-most in baseball history. Five more home runs would put Pujols in the 700 home run club with Barry Bonds, Henry Aaron and Babe Ruth.