Albert Pujols of the Cardinals hits a two-run homer – the 697th of his career – in the ninth inning Sunday against the Pirates. Gene J. Puskar/Associated Press
PITTSBURGH — Albert Pujols hit his 697th home run, moving past Alex Rodriguez into fourth place on the career list and doing it in dramatic fashion with a ninth-inning drive that rallied the St. Louis Cardinals over the Pittsburgh Pirates 4-3 Sunday.
The NL Central-leading Cardinals trailed 2-1 when Pujols connected for a two-run drive. Pujols had tied Rodriguez with a home run Saturday night.
Pujols trails Barry Bonds (762), Hank Aaron (755) and Babe Ruth (714) on the all-time homer chart.
“There’s impressive and then there’s unbelievable,” Cardinals Manager Oliver Marmol said. “What we’re witnessing right now is legendary. You have to take a step back from managing the game and take it all in. It’s amazing.”
Pujols, 42, has 21 games left in his 22nd and final season in the big leagues. He’s hit 18 home runs this season.
The Cardinals went to the ninth inning trailing 2-0 but scored four runs off Chase DeJong (4-2)
Tommy Edman and Corey Dickerson led off with back-to-back doubles to produce the first run. Pujols followed with his homer to put the Cardinals on top.
One out after Pujols connected, Tyler O’Neil hit a solo shot to cap St. Louis’ big inning.
DODGERS 11, PADRES 2: Justin Turner hit a grand slam and a solo homer for Los Angeles, which emphatically became the first team to clinch a playoff spot this season by winning at San Diego.
Los Angeles, with the best record in the majors at 96-43, sealed a playoff berth for the 10th straight season.
DIAMONDBACKS 12, ROCKIES 6: Zac Gallen retired the first nine batters he faced to extend his scoreless innings streak to 44 1/3 innings, seventh longest in MLB history, before finally giving up a run as Arizona won in Denver.
METS 9, MARLINS 3: Brandon Nimmo homered, doubled and walked twice to help visiting New York maintain its slim lead atop the NL East.
Tomas Nido had three hits and drove in three runs for the Mets.
BREWERS 7, REDS 6: Rowdy Tellez homered twice, doubled and drove in four runs, and Milwaukee withstood a ninth-inning comeback by visiting Cincinnati.
PHILLIES 7, NATIONALS 5: Alec Bohm hit a go-ahead, two-run homer in the seventh inning as Philadelphia beat visiting Washington in a game interrupted for 3 hours, 36 minutes by rain.
AMERICAN LEAGUE
YANKEES 10, RAYS 4: Gleyber Torres homered twice and Giancarlo Stanton and Oswaldo Cabrera once each during a 10-run barrage in the first two innings, and New York again routed visiting Tampa Bay to reopen a 5½-game lead in the AL East.
Ten of New York’s first 14 batters reached, with Torres hitting a three-run homer in the first and a solo drive in the second, both off Luis Patino (1-2). New York built a 10-1 lead with a seven-run second inning and took two of three to finish a 5-2 homestand.
GUARDIANS 4, TWINS 1: Andres Gimenez and Steven Kwan hit solo homers, Shane Bieber had another strong start and Cleveland finished off a sweep at Minnesota.
Bieber (10-8) went 6 1/3 innings, allowing five hits and one run while striking out seven. James Karinchak walked a pair of batters in the ninth inning but struck out three to earn his second save.
ASTROS 12, ANGELS 4: Alex Bregman and Trey Mancini hit two of Houston’s five home runs in a win at home against Los Angeles.
Trailing 3-0, the Astros rallied for five runs in the third. Mauricio Dubón led off with a solo home run, and after Tucker Davidson (2-6) hit Yordan Alvarez to load the bases, Davidson was replaced by Mike Mayers, who Bregman greeted with his grand slam to right-center.
RANGERS 4, BLUE JAYS 1: Martin Perez allowed one run in six innings, Adolis Garcia homered for the second consecutive game and Texas won at home.
ATHLETICS 10, WHITE SOX 3: Ramon Laureano hit a two-run homer and Vimael Machin added a two-run double as Oakland won at home, snapping a five-game losing streak.
ROYALS 4, TIGERS 0: Brady Singer threw seven shutout innings to lead Kansas City to a win at home.
Singer (8-4) allowed four hits and one walk, struck out six and retired 16 of the last 18 batters he faced. The Royals have won six of his last seven starts; he is 4-0 with a 2.25 ERA over that span.
INTERLEAGUE
MARINERS 8, BRAVES 7: Julio Rodriguez and Eugenio Suarez each connected in the bottom of the ninth inning for their second home run of the game, rallying Seattle to a win over Atlanta.
The Braves trailed 6-2 going into the ninth, but Michael Harris II and Robbie Grossman hit two-out homers during a five-run comeback.
NOTES
WHITE SOX: Manager Tony La Russa says he is recovering well from having a pacemaker inserted for his heart but is uncertain when he will be medically cleared to run the club again.
La Russa, 77, was back with the White Sox in Oakland on Sunday to celebrate Dave Stewart having his No. 34 jersey retired by the Athletics. La Russa was there for the ceremony, but not to manage his team.
La Russa is uncertain when he will be in uniform again and back in the dugout. Bench coach Miguel Cairo has been leading the club during La Russa’s nearly two-week absence.
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