OFF THE WALL

We just couldn’t let this stuff go …

Pujols catches fire in second half to reach 700 homers

Albert Pujols punctuated a magical final season with his 700th career home run Friday night, a shot that made him just the fourth major league player in history to reach the milestone.

The blast against the Los Angeles Dodgers was one of two Pujols hit on the night. His 699th, a two-run shot off Andrew Heaney, came in the third. The 700th was a three-run blast on a misplaced breaking ball from Dodgers right-hander Phil Bickford that Pujols sent into the seats in left field at Chavez Ravine.

Pujols, 42, rejoined the team with which he made a name for himself, the St. Louis Cardinals, on a one-year deal this spring. At the time, he had 679 homers. He had surpassed 21 in a season only once since 2018. By the time MLB named him an All-star to commemorate his stellar career, he had just 683 homers — far enough away that it seemed he would need a stunning revival to make it close. He entered Friday hitting .310 with a 1.022 on-base-plusslugging percentage since.

Pujols didn’t need 700 homers to be a surefire Hall of Famer, though he is in the smallest of upper echelons now. Only Barry Bonds, Hank Aaron and Babe Ruth have more home runs to their name than Pujols. Bonds’ numbers are considered tainted by some, his legacy controversial enough to keep him out of the Hall of Fame.

Only nine players have more hits than Pujols. All of them, with the complicated exception of Pete Rose, are in Cooperstown. Only two players, Ruth and Aaron, have driven in more runs. He is the most prolific Dominican hitter in baseball history and the first to cross the 700-homer threshold.

Pujols’ push comes in what was already an emotional season for the Cardinals. Longtime catcher Yadier Molina announced this would be his final season, meaning he and starter Adam Wainwright also would be chasing history together. In September, they made their 325th start together, a record that will not be broken anytime soon.

While Wainwright has said he could continue pitching after this season, Cardinals fans have treasured this season as “one last ride” with the three staples of their title-winning 2006 and 2011 squads. Wainwright and Molina stayed in St. Louis their whole careers. Pujols, meanwhile, departed for a 10-year sabbatical in Anaheim — a stint that was not quite as productive as his early Cardinals years.

Trivia question

Pujols hit 40 or more homers six times with the Cardinals. How many times did he do that with the Angels?

‘Old pretty boy’

The undefeated Floyd Mayweather Jr. says Japanese fans will be able to “see a glimpse of the old pretty boy” when he fights

the Manny Pacquiao-trained Mikuru Asakura in a three-round exhibition on Sunday.

The 45-year-old Mayweather told reporters on Saturday he is in good condition for the bout with 30-year-old Asakura, a mixed martial artist specialist who is making his boxing debut at the Saitama Super Arena north of Tokyo.

There are no weight restrictions for the bout. “It’s all about having fun,” said Mayweather, who has a perfect 50-0 record.

His longtime Filipino rival Pacquiao, a champion in eight weight divisions, also appeared at Saturday’s press conference.

Trivia answer

Once, he hit exactly 40 in 2015.