In case you haven’t been keeping up with Albert Pujols, the Cardinals first baseman was off to the worst start in his 11-year career.
On May 29, Pujols was hitting .257 with eight HR’s and 28 RBI’s. Those numbers aren’t too bad for an average player, but they’re downright pathetic for the best hitter in Major League Baseball.
But Pujols is starting to show signs that he’s on the verge of breaking loose. Over the last eight games, he has 12 hits, five HR’s and 11 RBI’s in 27 AB’s to raise his average to .278.
Although his season totals are still well below his yearly averages, Pujols isn’t that far off the pace of the National League’s leaders in HR’s and RBI’s.
That’s a scary thought considering his early season struggles. And despite his lack of production at the plate, Pujols now has 13 HR’s – which ties him for fifth in MLB – and he’s fifth in the majors with 42 runs scored.
If you’ve followed Pujols over his spectacular career, you’d know he has his stroke down when he hits the ball in the gaps, up the middle and to right field.
On Saturday, Pujols homered to right center in the fourth inning and hit a double to left center in the sixth. He won the game for the Cardinals in the 12th inning when he golfed a ball over the left field wall.
On Sunday, he hit another game-winning home run in the 10th inning to give the Cards a 3-2 win over the Cubs and a sweep of their three-game series.
In other words, Pujols is beginning to look like the hitter we’ve come to know, and that’s bad news for the rest of the NL.
It’s pretty amazing what the Cardinals have been able to accomplish with all the injuries they’ve had. Adam Wainwright was lost for the year in spring training after blowing out his elbow and Matt Holiday missed some games early due to appendicitis.
Skip Schumaker, Allen Craig, Brian Tallet and Bryan Augenstein have all spent time on the 15-day DL this season while Colby Rasmus has missed games because of an abdominal strain.
Now Holiday is on the disabled list because of a quad muscle, making him the fifth Cardinal currently on the DL along with Nick Punto, Kyle McClellan, Gerald Laird and David Freese.
Yet with all the injuries and Pujols’ struggles at the plate, St. Louis has somehow managed to stay atop the NL Central standings.
Not that they aren’t already a team to be reckoned with, but if Pujols can continue his resurgence and the Cardinals can get healthy, St. Louis might be a very dangerous club in October.
