Monday, June 22, 2009
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Albert Pujols comes through Kansas City once a season. The Royals wouldn’t be too disappointed if he never came back.
Pujols finished off a three-day romp in Kansas City with two homers and six RBIs, helping the St. Louis Cardinals rout the Royals 12-5 Sunday in win No. 2,500 for manager Tony La Russa.
“He’s the best hitter in the game,” Royals starter Gil Meche said.
Pujols made a mockery of Kansas City pitching in his return to the town where he went to high school, hitting three homers and driving in 10 runs in the Cardinals’ three-game sweep over their cross-state rivals.
The two-time NL MVP had four hits Sunday and delivered the decisive blow in the Cardinals’ eight-run fourth inning, pounding his club record-tying third grand slam of the season off a window on the Royals Hall of Fame in left. He also had a run-scoring single in the first and added his major league-leading 26th homer — eighth in 10 games — in the fifth to put the Cardinals up 12-4.
La Russa is 2,500-2,177 in 31 years as a big league manager with the Chicago White Sox, Oakland and St. Louis.