SAN LUIS – Albert Pujols rewarded an audience that paid tribute to him by connecting to a home run on his return to Busch Stadium, and the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the St. Louis Cardinals 7-2 on Tuesday.
Justin Turner got a pair of flyers, while Will Smith hit another home run by the Dodgers, who are battling for a postseason ticket and won for the sixth time in eight duels.
St. Louis has lost five of six.
Pujols, a stellar goal scorer who helped the Cardinals in winning two World Series titles, made his second appearance for Busch after playing for St. Louis from 2001 to 2011.
The audience cheered for 40 seconds on Sunday when his name was announced, before his turn to bat at the first entry. Puerto Rican Yadier Molina, Pujols’ teammate for years, stopped in front of the plate to prolong the acclaim.
They both hugged before Pujols was placed in the batting box.
Very soon, Pujols found the fourth pitch of JA Happ and sent the ball over the left garden wall. He was home run number 679 in his career and his 17th in the campaign.
Alex crossing (3-1) took the win. Happ (8-8) allowed four runs-seven hits in five innings.
For the Dodgers, the Dominican Pujols 4-1 with one scored and one produced.
For the Cardinals, the Boricua Molina 4-1. Panamanian Edmundo Sosa 1-1.