Cardinals’ Pujols hits two home runs, shows he’s not done yet

St. Louis Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol leaned back in his chair postgame, trying to find more superlatives to describe ageless Albert Pujols. Words weren’t easy to come by, as the slugger’s lore in baseball history continues to grow.

“Listen to the names that we’re talking about, man,”marmol said. “It’s unbelievable.”

Pujols blasted two more homers on Saturday night, pushing his career total to 692 and helping St. Louis beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 16-7.

With the first homer, Pujols passed Cardinals icon Stan Musial for No. 2 in total bases in major league history and now has 6,143. Hank Aaron is No. 1 with 6,856.

It was a vintage night for the 42-year-old Pujols, who continues to hit like a man at least a decade younger. The 11-time All-star hit solo homers in the second and fourth off D-backs lefty Madison Bumgarner, both to almost the same spot in the left-center seats.

He nearly hit a third homer, scorching a single off the base of the left field wall in the sixth. He capped his 4-for-4 night with a ground ball single through the left side of the infield in the seventh.

Pujols could have had five hits, but Marmol elected to pinch hit rookie Nolan Gorman in the ninth.

Nobody was cheering louder than Pujols when Gorman singled.

“That’s what you’re supposed to do in baseball, have fun,” Pujols said.

The slugger says this is his last season. Just a few weeks ago, 700 career homers looked out of reach, but the way he’s swinging the bat, it appears very much in play.

“That’s the hard work I put in day in and day out,”pujols said. “Nothing surprises me.”