It was all the offense the Redbirds could muster, and all they have managed in two games against the visiting Giants, but Pujols doesn't miss too many pitches.
In a line-up that is painfully lacking any punch number 5 is threatening to do something the senior circuit hasn't seen since Amelia Earhart disappeared over the Pacific.
Since 1900 the NL has had just four triple crown seasons (by three different players).
Rogers Hornsby (STL) 1922 .401-42 HR-152 RBI and 1925 .403-39 HR-143 RBI
Chuck Klein (PHI) 1933 .368-28 HR-120 RBI
Joe Medwick (STL) 1937 .374-31 HR-154 RBI
(Baseball-Reference.com)
Through 79 games Pujols leads the NL with 30 homers (six more than Adrian Gonzalez) and 77 RBI's (three more than Prince Fielder and 17 more than the third place man Ryan Howard).
He trails the NL batting leader David Wright by 13 points (.345 to .332) and is currently tied for fifth in that category.
Pujols, a career .334 hitter, finished second in the NL in hitting in 2008 after slugging his way to a .357 clip.
He has one batting title to his name already when his .359 was tops in 2003 and since he has hit under .330 just once in a season.
He has failed to win the NL home run crown but the steroid era is largely to blame for that. Pujols has never smacked 50 homers in a season but with 30 already before July 1st that barrier should be reachable.
With his homers tonight he became the first player in baseball history to start his career with 9-straight 30-homer seasons, so there is no doubt A-Pu can stroke the long ball.
From 2003-2006 he was in the top-5 in dingers in the NL each year including his high water mark of 49 in 2006. Most importantly he seems to have found his longball groove and has a sizable lead in that area.
He has never led the NL in RBI's but has finished in the top-5 in every season but one (2007). He was second in 2002 and 2006, third in 2004 and 2005 and fourth in 2003 and 2008.
So the potential to win that category is there but that may also be his biggest downfall.
Pujols doesn't need his teammates to help him hit or smack home runs but he does need them to be on base if he wants to have the most RBI's.
The Cardinals just dealt for utility infielder Mark DeRosa. It will be up to him and a cast of other guys like Ryan Ludwick, Rick Ankiel and Chris Duncan to start producing then the rest will be up to Albert.
Tomorrow is just July 1, so there is a lot of baseball left to play but with another torrid start and a definite power surge Pujols has set the stage for what could be a historic summer in America's heartland.
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