Albert Pujols homers, gets 3 hits to propel Cardinals past Royals

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Albert Pujols called his shot.

The veteran slugger told Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol he was going to hit the first pitch he saw Tuesday night for a home run — and then did just that.

Pujols homered for the first time since returning to St. Louis and Andrew Knizner launched a three-run shot as the Cardinals defeated the Kansas City Royals 6-5 on Tuesday night.

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St. Louis Cardinals' Albert Pujols watches his solo home run during the first inning of a baseball game against the Kansas City Royals Tuesday, April 12, 2022, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

"When you have 680 you can make those kind of calls," Pujols said. "I had a good feeling. Sometimes you get lucky, and it happens."

Nolan Arenado also went deep for St. Louis, which has won 20 of 27 interleague games against the in-state Royals since Aug. 7, 2017.

Salvador Perez homered twice and Michael A. Taylor also connected for Kansas City, which has allowed 33 runs in losing its last three games.

The 42-year-old Pujols, who also singled twice in a 3-for-4 performance, signed with St. Louis on March 28 for his final season. He played for the Cardinals from 2001-11, helping them win two World Series.

In the first inning, Pujols slammed the first pitch he saw from Daniel Lynch over the wall in left field, much to the delight of the crowd, which chanted his name before he stepped out of the dugout for a curtain call.

In addition to his 680 homers, Pujols has 3,304 hits over a 21-year career.

"He's The Machine for a reason," Knizner said. "I can't say enough about how he played tonight. That was an excellent display of hitting, squaring