Albert Pujols and Jordan Montgomery had outstanding performances for the St. Louis Cardinals on Monday night. Pujols, at 42 years old, continues to break age-old records. He moved one step closer to reaching the historic 700 home run mark after hitting No. 693 last night. The Cardinals defeated the Chicago Cubs in a 1-0 victory at Wrigley Field.
Jordan Montgomery, who has been exceptional since his move to the Cardinals, had a career night himself. Montgomery recorded his first ever complete game to earn his seventh win of the season. Unfortunately for Montgomery, you will always be second-page news when competing with a future Hall of Famer who is breaking records left and right.
"To be doing it as long as he has and being as good as long as he has and breaking all the records, it’s honestly an honor to be his teammate," said Montgomery, per MLB.com.
Jordan Montgomery only recently joined the ballclub, but Pujols' energy is contagious. It also helps that the Cardinals are on the hottest streak in MLB, winning eight games in a row.
"ALBERT PUJOLS IS UNREAL BRWalkoff Career HR No. 693 for The Machine" - Bleacher Report
The Albert Pujols chase to 700 has become one of the most talked about topics in baseball. The Dominican slugger, who insists he will retire at the end of the season, is only three home runs away from tying Alex Rodriguez, who sits in fourth place all-time.
Only Babe Ruth (714), Hank Aaron (755) and Barry Bonds (762) have reached the 700 milestone in their careers.
Albert Pujols is breaking age-old records in an historic final season with the St. Louis Cardinals
Pujols' home run in the seventh inning off Drew Smyly broke up a scoreless, hard-fought pitching duel. With that rocket to left field, he has now hit home runs off 449 different pitchers and ties Barry Bonds for the record.
"Albert Pujols has now homered off of 449 different pitchers, tying Barry Bonds for the MLB record" - Talkin' Baseball
While most people are focused on his home runs, Pujols is now second all-time in career total bases. He recently overtook fellow St. Louis Cardinal Stan "The Man" Musial (6,134). With 6,149 total bases, Pujols trails only Hank Aaron (6,856) in that category.
Last week, the Cardinals made history in a game against the Colorado Rockies, with Pujols and Adam Wainwright both contributing. They became the only team in MLB history to have one player aged 40-plus hit a grand slam and another over 40 pitch seven shutout innings.
Continuing his post-All Star Break revival by providing the only run of his @Cardinals win vs the Cubs tonight, Albert Pujols now owns 13 home runs so far this season. A whopping 7 of those have come in 10 games since August 10th, ranking 1st on this list of sluggers 42 or older" - StatsCentre
Montgomery pitched a one-hitter complete game Monday. He was nearly flawless on the night. It took him 99 pitches to complete nine innings. He allowed no runs and no walks, and he struck out seven batters. He is 4-0 since joining the Cardinals and has allowed only one run in 25.2 innings pitched. Unfortunately, he chose the wrong night to have a big day as all the talk surrounded Albert Pujols.
Even Cubs fans applauded as Pujols rounded the bases. Pujols' 700 chase has become the most talked about and exciting story in baseball. With the 11-time All-Star insisting this will be his last season, fans are hoping he has seven more home runs left in him.