The Arch in St. Louis, Missouri. On Sunday night, the undefined blasted the undefined 15-6, with veteran slugger Albert Pujols pitching in the ninth inning. The undefined starting duo of Adam Wainwright and Yadier Molina set a major league record most victories by a starting battery.
Albert Pujols Makes Historic Pitching Debut in Cardinals Blowout Win
With an early onslaught from St. Louis, Molina hit a home run and drove in four runs, Wainwright threw six strong innings, and the Cardinals dominated against Carlos Rodón. After dropping the first two games of the series to struggling Baltimore, the Cardinals bounced back to win the last game and the series. Goldschmidt drove in three runs.
The Cardinals’ DH, Pujols, made his pitching debut in the ninth inning, 22 years after he debuted as a player. After allowing home runs to Luis Gonzalez (for three runs) and Joey Bart (for one run), he got the final three outs with plenty of room to spare.
While Lena Blackburne also pitched in his final major league game as a player/manager for the 1929 Chicago White Sox, at age 42, Albert Pujols became the oldest player to make his pitching debut at that time.
With their 203rd victory together, Wainwright and Molina set a new record for most wins by a starting battery in the major leagues. Between 1949 and 1963, Warren Spahn and Del Crandall of the Boston Red Sox and Milwaukee Braves won 202 games.
After Spahn and Crandall (316) and Mickey Lolich and Bill Freehan (324) of the Detroit Tigers from 1963 to 1975, the St. Louis duo ranks in third place all-time in terms of the most games started by a duo.
Last Words
The Giants, led by Joc Pederson’s two-run homer, have dropped two in a row after winning six in a row. Thanks for reading our article Albert Pujols Makes Historic Pitching Debut in Cardinals Blowout Win.
