PITTSBURG – Albert Pujols made two home runs and then caught warm-up shots when star catcher Yadier Malina made his first throw to complete the St. Louis Cardinals game 18-4 over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Sunday.
Raspberry abandoned a pair of homers and four runs, working in the ninth inning, eventually completing the Cardinals ’triple.
But for St. Louis it wasn’t all the fun and games yet. Starter Stephen Mats held out just four innings before being pulled by stiffness in his left shoulder.
Puhols increased the number of home runs in his career to 683. In the fifth inning Puhols, hitting Nolan Arenada, increased the score to 11-0, Puhols went 425 feet from the rotunda to the left.
The 42-year-old batter added three Homer runs in the ninth from Pirates infielder Josh VanMeter in the ninth. Puchols is fifth on Homer’s list of all time, 13 behind Alex Rodriguez in fourth, and his 32nd in PNC Park – the most among the rival player.
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Exactly a week after Pujols took the mound for the first time in his Premier League career, Molina got his turn with St. Louis ahead 18-0. Pujols was behind the plate to warm up his longtime teammate in between innings.
The 39-year-old Molina, who is a perennial all-star game and Golden Glover, throws them not so well. He gave up a solo homer by Yoshi Tsutsuga and a three-time drive by Jack Suwinsky.
In total, Molina allowed four hits per inning, throwing 14 of 20 pitches for strikes, without outlining or walking. Pujols also allowed four runs and two homers in one inning, completing San Francisco’s defeat last Sunday night.
After Mats came out, Angel Rondon (1-0) stepped in to strike out Ke’Brien Hayes from his first inning. Rondon conceded just one hit in five innings for his first major win, scoring four and three times.
After being recalled from the taxi team before the game, Rondon played for the third time in the major leagues and for the first time since June 12, 2021.
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Nolan Gorman’s highly touted prospect doubled in the first, bringing the Cardinals ahead with their first major RBI league. He received three strokes and went 5 on 10 with two doubles in his first series in the major
Tommy Edman also had three of the Cardinals ’20 hits. He broke two doubles and assisted the key in six races in the second match against Bryza Wilson (0-3).
Harrison Bader also left VanMeter, who made his debut in the major tournaments and passed five runs in the ninth. Usually Van Meter was the second base and outfielder, for the first time in an emergency he was pressed to the duty of a catcher.
RASTER MIA
LHP Cardinal Matthew Liberator was elected to Triple-A Memphis. During his Premier League debut on Saturday, he gave up four runs on seven strokes with three throws and two walks in 4 2/3 innings.
Coaching room
SS Pirates Kevin Newman failed while rehabilitating a left groin sprain from Triple-A Indianapolis. A new injury to the hamstring, said general manager Ben Cherington.
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NEXT
Cardinals: RHP Miles Nicholas (3-2, 1.68) will take the mound on Monday when St. Louis head home for the first of two games against the Toronto Blue Jays. This season, Mikolas has not allowed more than two earned runs in eight starts.
Pirates: RHP JT Brubaker (0-4, 5.50) is expected to begin Monday in the first of three games of the set against Colorado Rockies. His last victory came on August 24 last season.
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