Albert Pujols hits 584th HR, alone in 10th on all-time list.
TORONTO — Albert Pujols moved into sole possession of 10th place on baseball’s all-time list by hitting his 584th home run, Matt Shoemaker pitched six shutout innings and Los Angeles snapped an 11-game road losing streak by beating the Toronto Blue Jays 8-2 on Wednesday.
Pujols had a season-high four hits and three RBI. After he and Mike Trout hit back-to-back home runs in the first, Pujols hit a sacrifice fly in the second, singled in the fourth and sixth innings, then capped his night with an RBI double in the eighth.
Pujols left without speaking to reporters, but his teammates shared their happiness at his historic home run.
“Albert will probably pass a few more of those guys, hopefully all of them,” Shoemaker said. “It’s always special and we’re happy for him.”
Pujols leads the Angels with 99 RBI.
“Albert just keeps going,” Manager Mike Scioscia said. “He’s approaching 100 RBI. He’s in the middle of our lineup virtually every day. He got some big hits tonight.”
For Pujols, the home run broke a tie with Mark McGwire on the alltime list. Pujols hit 37 home runs as a rookie with St. Louis in 2001, McGwire’s final season before retirement.
“That’s pretty special,” Trout said of Pujols’ milestone home run. “Obviously he and McGwire were teammates, they know each other well.”
A three-time MVP and 10-time All-Star, Pujols is two home runs shy of tying Frank Robinson for ninth place.
A 16-year veteran, Pujols has hit at least 20 home runs in every season
but 2013, when he was limited to 99 games.
“He hasn’t shown any signs of slowing down,” Trout said. “He’s still putting up numbers, still driving in 100. It’s fun to watch.”
ATHLETICS 5, INDIANS 1 Kendall Graveman pitched into the seventh inning to become Oakland’s first 10-game winner this season, and the host A’s beat Cleveland to win the series.
TIGERS 9, TWINS 4 Miguel Cabrera had four hits, including his 28th home run, and Justin Upton added a three-run home run as visiting Detroit beat Minnesota.
YANKEES 5, MARINERS 0 Rookie Gary Sanchez kept up his torrid stretch with his seventh home run in the past nine games, and Masahiro Tanaka won his fourth consecutive start, leading New York to a victory over host Seattle.
RAYS 4, RED SOX 3 (11) David Ortiz hit his 30th home run in the first inning, but Tampa Bay came back from a three-run deficit to beat visiting Boston in 11 innings.
NATIONAL LEAGUE
CUBS 6, PADRES 3 Kyle Hendricks pitched six effective innings and Chicago finished off a three-game sweep, beating host San Diego.
CARDINALS 8, METS 1 Matt Carpenter, Randal Grichuk and Stephen Piscotty homered off Mets starter Jacob deGrom, powering St. Louis past visiting New York. BREWERS 7, ROCKIES 1 Ryan Braun hit two home runs as host Milwaukee beat Colorado.
INTERLEAGUE
ASTROS 5, PIRATES 4 Evan Gattis hit his 20th home run and Carlos Correa got two hits and scored twice, leading Collin McHugh and Houston over host Pittsburgh.
ORIOLES 10, NATIONALS 8 Closer Zach Britton saw his streak of 43 consecutive games without allowing an earned run end, then shut down a ninth-inning rally to help visiting Baltimore hold off Washington.
MARLINS 3, ROYALS 0 Jose Fernandez pitched seven innings and appeared to avoid a serious injury when he tweaked his right leg on his final pitch, helping host Miami beat Kansas City.
PHILLIES 5, WHITE SOX 3 Tommy Joseph and Cesar Hernandez homered to back Jerod Eickhoff, and visiting Philadelphia beat Chicago.
RANGERS 6, REDS 5 Yu Darvish hit only the second home run by a Texas pitcher and Adrian Beltre hit a tiebreaking double in the eighth inning for a victory over host Cincinnati.