The Angels’ Albert Pujols joins the 3,000-hit club on a night when four Dodgers pitchers combine on no-hitter.
ANGELS 5, MARINERS 0
SEATTLE — Los Angeles Angels slugger Albert Pujols got his 3,000th hit, reaching the mark with a broken-bat single Friday night in a 5-0 victory over Seattle and becoming the 32nd player in major league history to join the exclusive club.
Pujols dumped the single into shallow right field in the fifth inning against Mike Leake. It came on Pujols' sixth attempt after getting to 2,999 a day earlier.
Pujols received a standing ovation from the crowd at Safeco Field and was given the baseball and first base as a memento. His teammates all greeted him on the field before action resumed.
The 38-year-old Pujols nearly got the mark in the first inning, but his hard liner was right at shortstop Jean Segura. Pujols walked on a 3-2 pitch leading off the fourth inning after fouling off four two-strike pitches.
Pujols joined Hank Aaron, Willie Mays and Alex Rodriguez as the fourth player in baseball history with 3,000 hits and 600 homers. He's the first player to reach the mark since Adrian Beltre last year against Baltimore.
Pujols reached the precipice of the milestone earlier this week in Anaheim, getting two hits against Baltimore on Wednesday night — including his 620th career homer — before getting No. 2,999 on a second-inning double Thursday night.
Ichiro Suzuki reached 3,000 hits in 2016 and also accomplished it on the road. He was in the Seattle clubhouse on Friday when Pujols joined the club.
Pujols became the second Dominican player to reach 3,000 hits by joining Beltre. With Suzuki stepping away this week for the remainder of the 2018 season, Beltre is the only active player with more hits than Pujols.
Few sluggers in baseball history have been more versatile than Pujols, who joins Aaron as the only players with 600 doubles and 600 homers among their 3,000 hits. He is seventh on baseball's career homers list after hitting his 600th last season.
A three-time NL MVP with the St. Louis Cardinals, Pujols joined the Angels in 2012.