St. Louis Cardinals pinch hitter Albert Pujols (5) hits a solo home run against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

Albert Pujols inches closer to historic milestone with two-homer day

By Adam Stites | Last updated 5/22/22

The St. Louis Cardinals' Albert Pujols is just 17 home runs away from becoming the fourth player in MLB history to reach 700 after launching two against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Sunday.

Pujols, 42, entered the game as a pinch hitter in the fifth inning and hit the second pitch he saw over the wall in left field.

Off the bench and out of the yard! pic.twitter.com/nOALeoa1Uf
— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) May 22, 2022

In the ninth inning, Pujols hit career home run No. 683 to the same exact spot.

Not a replay, @PujolsFive sends 683 over the left-field wall! pic.twitter.com/PHFqmptBAd
— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) May 22, 2022

Barry Bonds, Hank Aaron and Babe Ruth are the only three players to ever eclipse 700 career homers. Before Pujols gets there, he'll first have to pass Alex Rodriguez for fourth-most all-time. Rodriguez finished his career with 696 home runs.

"I'm here to try to help this ball club as much as I can," Pujols said, per ESPN and The Associated Press. "This is not about me. It's never been about me. It's always been about this Cardinals organization and the impact I can make on the players in the organization."

Pujols has appeared in 22 of the Cardinals' 41 games this season. The team improved to 23-18 on the year with its 18-4 win over the Pirates.

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