Star Wars intersected with The Umpire Strikes Back.
St. Louis’ Albert Pujols has broken hearts, shattered dreams and killed hopes. But until Monday night, his method of spoiling dreams was rather one-dimensional. With one swing of the bat, he could make opposing fans gasp in silence.
He sent the Rockies reeling with his running, his speedy burst from second base on an infield groundout in the ninth inning securing a 6-5 victory for the Cardinals at Coors Field.
The top of the ninth inning started ominously and ended surprisingly. Pujols, arguably baseball’s most feared hitter with Barry Bonds in forced retirement, laced a double off closer Brian Fuentes. He shot a 92 mph fastball down the right-field line.
At second base, Pujols adopted an aggressive approach, taking a big lead despite Fuentes possessing a strong pickoff move. Rick Ankiel followed Pujols and hit a slow roller to second baseman Jonathan Herrera.
On contact, Pujols took off and never stopped. Hesitated, but never stopped. So after Herrera fired to Todd Helton, the first baseman whipped a throw home that a sliding Pujols beat. Catcher Yorvit Torrealba was beside himself, an inning after having a disagreement with plate umpire Bob Davidson on a third strike call when he was hitting with runners in scoring position.
The Rockies played just well enough to lose, again forced to overcome uneven starting pitching.
Ubaldo Jimenez’s thrilling yet maddening roller-coaster ride continued. Before the game, manager Clint Hurdle laid out objectives for his right-hander.
“We need him to be efficient with his pitches, get deeper into games, and first and foremost, command his fastball,” Hurdle said.
