It’s no secret that 41-year-old future Hall of Famer Albert Pujols is a slow runner … a very slow runner. In fact, over his brilliant 21-year MLB career, he has grounded into 407 double plays – the most in MLB history. Additionally, since becoming a Dodger on May 17, 2021, the Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic native and 13th-round draft pick in 1999 by the St. Louis Cardinals out of Maple Woods Community College in Kansas City, MO has grounded into four double plays in his 88 at-bats in Dodger Blue.

During Friday night’s 10-5 pounding of the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park, Albert Pujols did not ground into a double play. Instead, he (brace yourselves) hit a one-out RBI infield single to begin a nine-run seventh-inning Dodgers rally.

“Grinding an at-bat, a pinch-hit at-bat like Albert did, to put the ball in play to drive in a run first and foremost, and then find a way to leg out an infield hit was huge,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said postgame.

To be fair, although Pujols was credited with an infield single, it very easily could have been (and perhaps should have been) ruled an error by Nationals third baseman Starlin Castro, who bobbled the ball when transferring it from glove to hand, allowing Pujols to “…leg out an infield hit.” But hey, it is – and forever will be – in the books as a base hit for Pujols and a non-error for the normally-sure-handed Castro.

With Friday night’s win, the Dodgers increased their current winning streak to seven games and are now but a half-game behind the NL West division-leading San Francisco Giants, who also won on Friday night.

“It’s good, winning baseball,” Roberts said of his team’s winning ways. “Right now, we’re playing really good baseball.”

Don’t stop now, boys.

…and thanks for the rally-starter, Albert!

Play Ball!

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