Minnesota Twins vs Los Angeles Angels Box Score on Jun 03, 2017

The Sports Xchange
Jun 4, 2017

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Albert Pujols joined an elite group Saturday night, delivering the 600th home run of his career with a flourish -- a grand slam in the fourth inning -- as the Los Angeles Angels beat the Minnesota Twins 7-2 before 40,236 at Angel Stadium.

Pujols becomes one of nine players in major league history to reach the milestone, and no one else hit that plateau with a grand slam. Of Pujols' 600 home runs, 14 have come with the bases loaded.

Barry Bonds (762), Hank Aaron (755), Babe Ruth (714), Alex Rodriguez (696), Willie Mays (660), Ken Griffey Jr. (630), Jim Thome (612) and Sammy Sosa (609) have hit more home runs than Pujols.

Aaron, Ruth, Mays and Griffey are in the Hall of Fame. Of the modern-era players on the list, the presence of Bonds, Rodriguez and Sosa is obscured somewhat by their relationship with steroids. Thome makes his first appearance on a Hall of Fame ballot in 2018.

Pujols, 37, is the fourth-youngest player to reach 600, trailing Rodriguez (35), Ruth (36) and Aaron (two months younger).

The Angels led 3-1 going into the bottom of the fourth with Pujols having walked and struck out in his first two plate appearances. With one out, Ben Revere singled and Eric Young Jr. walked. After Andrelton Simmons popped out, Kole Calhoun drew a walk to load the bases for Pujols.

On a 1-2 pitch by Minnesota ace Ervin Santana, Pujols hit a towering fly to left field that had the distance, but the crowd had to wait a moment for third base umpire Clint Fagan to call it fair or foul. It landed fair, ten rows up, and the crowd alternately roared and took photos of Pujols' running around the bases and his arrival at home plate amid his teammates.

It was a warm, respectful moment, a deep hug of emotion from the fans rather than a wild eruption. Even his teammates gave him the royal treatment, lining up to congratulate him from the plate to the dugout. There was no Gatorade dump or talcum shower.

Pujols enjoyed the moment humbly, with a few tips of his helmet, a final bow to the crowd and then a hug and kiss from his wife Deidre just outside the dugout.

The Angels took a 3-1 lead in the third on back-to-back home runs by Simmons, a two-run shot, and Calhoun. Pujols' slam made it 7-1. The Twins' Max Kepler homered in the sixth.

Matt Shoemaker had his fourth strong effort in his last five outings, going 6 1/3 innings while allowing five hits, two runs, three walks and striking out five.

Santana, who came in with a league leading .140 opponents average and 1.75 ERA, had his shortest effort of the season, going four innings with seven hits, seven runs, three walks and three home runs. He had allowed only eight homers all season.

The Twins got a run in the first against Shoemaker. Robbie Grossman walked and came around on back-to-back singles by Miguel Sano and Max Kepler.

It was other Angels who went yard in the third to give the Angels a 3-1 lead.

After Eric Young Jr. was hit by a pitch, Simmons hit Santana's next pitch into the Angels bullpen in left field for a 2-1 lead. It was the native of Curacao's sixth of the season, two more than he had in his first season in Los Angeles in 2016.

Kole Calhoun then took an 0-1 Santana pitch deep to right field for back-to-back homers. It was his eighth of the season and third in two nights, breaking out of a two-week slump.

NOTES: Scott Steffel, a 23-year-old from Costa Mesa and graphic design major at Cal State Fullerton, caught Pujols' historic home run in left field. ... Angels CF Mike Trout spoke to the media Saturday for the first time since his surgery to repair a torn ligament in his left thumb suffered last week while sliding head-first into second base. He said he still plans to slide head first even after the injury. "I'm still going to play the same way," he said. "I always slide head first. I just think I have to have more control when I (do). They say (feet first) doesn't slow you down, but it feels like it does." ... Angels RHP Huston Street suffered soreness after back-to-back throwing sessions and his progress toward returning to the team has been put on hold. ... Angels RHP Cam Bedrosian has a second rehab assignment set for today at Single-A Inland Empire and hopes to return to the Angels' bullpen next week ... OF Michael Bourn, 34, signed a minor league contract with the Angels and played for Triple-A Salt Lake on Friday. He hit .264 for two major league teams last season but didn't resign with a major league team in 2017 and was released after a brief stay in Baltimore's minor league system. ... 1B C.J. Cron was recalled from Triple-A Salt Lake on Saturday, replacing 1B-3B Jefry Marte, who was optioned to Salt Lake. Cron missed 14 games with a left foot contusion earlier this season and slumped after returning. Marte was hitting .175 with 13 RBIs. Marte had an egregious error on a routine pop Thursday against the Twins that started a three-run ninth-inning rally ... The Angels recalled RHP Damien Magnifico and optioned RHP Deolis Guerra to Salt Lake.