“I feel like I still have some gas in the tank.”
It’s been five months since Albert Pujols said those words the day he joined the Dodgers in mid-May after the Angels released him. And the future Hall of Famer still hasn’t run out of fuel.
In the starting lineup for the Dodgers’ biggest game this season due to the presence of left-hander Max Fried, Pujols had two hits, reached three times and scored two runs in his first three at-bats of Game 5 of the Championship Series that night. Thursday against the Braves at Dodger Stadium and was involved in all of Los Angeles’ attacks in innings two, three and five.
The 41-year-old historic right-hander is the first player at least 40 to reach base three or more times and score two or more streaks in a postseason game since Pete Rose at age 43 for the Phillies against the Dodgers. in Game 3 of the 1983 SCLN, according to Baseball-Reference.
Pujols is also the oldest player with multiple games of two or more hits in the same postseason since Jorge Posada of Puerto Rico in 2011.
Batting sixth, Pujols, lined up sixth, started the night by hitting a line single to Fried in the second inning after AJ Pollock approached the Dodgers with a home run and then scored on another Chris Taylor homer that flipped the scoreboard.
An inning later and with Pollock on first, Pujols charged back with a hit to center that took his teammate to third. Pollock would score the Dodgers’ fourth on Taylor’s single.
The Pujols-Taylor combination would return to attack in the 5th. This time, Pujols maintained his dominance over Fried by negotiating a two-out walk that marked the exit of the all-star Atlanta starter. Fried was replaced by Chris Martin, whom Taylor greeted with a home run that extended LA’s lead to 6-2.
After dropping a .294 / .336 / .603 / offensive line and a .939 OPS in 146 plate appearances against lefties in the regular season, Pujols not only clinched a spot on the Dodgers’ postseason roster, but he also started three commitments in the starting lineup, including the do-or-die on Thursday. In total, he is .384 (13-5) in these playoffs.
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