Just Baseball Highlight Reel: Albert Pujols Homers Twice as Cardinals Win 18-4

All you need to know about what took place across the league on Sunday is right here in the Just Baseball Highlight Reel.

Cardinals 18, Pirates 4

Steven Matz only lasted four pitches for the St. Louis Cardinals before having to exit due to shoulder stiffness, yet he turned in a better start than Bryse Wilson.

Wilson was knocked out of the game in the second inning after having given up seven runs on six hits and two walks. Tyler Beede entered next for the Pirates and he went on to give up four runs. Look up after four innings and the Cardinals were already winning 11-0.

St. Louis actually scored those first 11 runs without leaving the yard, but finally did so in the top of the fifth when Albert Pujols hit his third home run of the season and the 682nd of his career.

Pujols wasted no time getting home run No. 683, taking advantage of the opportunity to face position player Josh VanMeter by depositing 71 MPH pitch 403 feet into the stands with an exit velo of 104.1 MPH.

The Pirates finally scored some runs in the bottom of the ninth inning to avoid the shutout, but not the embarrassment, as they were facing Yadier Molina who closed out the game on the mound.

Mariners 4, Red Sox 8

Nathan Eovaldi had another strong start, as he continues to perform well pitching in a contract year. The 32-year-old held the Mariners to just two runs on four hits, one walk and struck out 11 batters.

Christian Arroyo homered in the first, Rafael Devers hit a sac fly in the third and then Trevor Story broke a 2-2 tie in the bottom of the sixth to put Eovaldi in line for a win.

That 3-2 lead held until the top of the ninth inning, when Hansel Robles blew his third save of the season, giving up this two-out home run to Eugenio Suarez.

The game went to extras, where the Mariners took their first lead of the game on an RBI single from Adam Frazier. Boston would not be denied the win though, scoring five runs in the bottom of the 10th to win handedly.

Franchy Cordero delivered the final blow, blasting a walk-off grand slam.

Rays 6, Orioles 7

If you turned on this game between the Tampa Bay Rays and the Baltimore Orioles early, you would have thought it was over in the top of the first inning.

The Rays scored four runs to start the game, as Isaac Paredes capped off a rally with a three-run homer.

The Rays could not hold that lead though, as they went through nine different pitchers, with five of them giving up at least one run. In the bottom of the ninth, Ryan Thompson was on for the save and he would get within one out of getting the job done.

Unfortunately for Thompson, he balked in the inning, advancing the two baserunners he allowed to get into scoring position before Austin Hays stepped up to the plate. Hays delivered, lacing a single that tied the game.

The score remained knotted up at 6-6 until the bottom of the 11th, when Rougned Odor came to the plate after a sac bunt moved ghost runner Adley Rutschman to third. A little bit of contact is all they needed and Odor provided that on a tough pitch that you have to see to believe.

Dodgers 3, Phillies 4

The Dodgers were in the midst of a seven-game winning streak and Sunday was just supposed to be another day at the office. Mookie Betts hit his 10th home run of the season, Trea Turner broke a tie in the top of the 10th inning and the Dodgers were one out away from sweeping the Phillies.

Then Max Muncy made the bonehead play of the day, booting a grounder that cost the Dodgers the game and their winning streak.

Reds 3, Blue Jays 2

Through the first two games of their series north of the border, the Cincinnati Reds had only scored two runs. They matched that total in the first inning Sunday, when Aristides Aquino drove in two with a double.

The Blue Jays were able to tie the game in the bottom of the third inning and that tie held until the top of the eighth inning, when Joey Votto won the game for the Reds with his first home run of the season.

Braves 3, Marlins 4

The story of this game was Sandy Alcantara, who showed why he is still the ace of the Marlins staff, despite Pablo Lopez’s dominant start to the 2022 season.

Alcantara limited the Atlanta Braves to just one run scored across his first eight innings pitched. Meanwhile the Marlins gave him four runs of support, with three of those runs coming in the sixth and the seventh innings.

Staked to a 4-1 lead, Alcantara finally begin to falter in the ninth inning, giving up back-to-back doubles to Travis d’Arnaud and Ozzie Albies to lead off a rally. A sac fly advanced Albies to third, and he would later score on a groundout, but Alcantara was able to seal the deal for his first complete game of the season.

Also thanks to Jesus Aguilar’s error on a pop up to start the ninth, as well as an error by Jesus Sanchez in the fifth, all three of the runs that Alcantara allowed went down unearned. This performance lowered his season ERA to a tidy 2.11.

Tigers 4, Guardians 2

Sometimes we can get a bit too offense-heavy in our highlight reels. So for this game, let’s pick up play in bottom of the fifth inning with the Tigers clinging to a 3-2 lead.

Amed Rosario gave one a ride that would have given the Guardians a lead, but Daz Cameron had other ideas.

After seeing how quickly a one-run lead can evaporate, Javier Baez provided some insurance late, giving this offense that has struggled so greatly a much-needed victory.

Nationals 8, Brewers 2

Not much highlight-worthy in this one, but the Nationals did once again prove that their offense is capable of putting runs on the board. In fact, in the top of the fourth inning, the Nats strung together seven-consecutive hits that netted them six runs and an easy victory in Milwaukee.

Rangers 2, Astros 5

The Houston Astros made light work of the Rangers this weekend, winning three of the four games they played against their Texas neighbors.

Jose Altuve homered in the first, Alex Bregman then doubled him home in the third, before Yordan Alvarez gave the Astros a 3-1 lead in the bottom of the fifth with an RBI double.

Mitch Garver’s home run in the fifth inning was the only run the Rangers would score until the ninth, when Brad Miller drove in what ended up being a meaningless run on a single. The Rangers move to 18-22 following the loss, as they continue to struggle after such a big offseason.

Twins 7, Royals 6

This game was pretty boring through the first five innings, with an Andrew Benintendi RBI single representing the only run for either side. The Royals finally erupted though in the sixth, extending their 1-0 lead to 6-0 with a five-run rally.

Hunter Dozier and Carlos Santana had the two biggest hits, RBI doubles that helped the Royals take a commanding lead.

Royals starting pitcher Brady Singer was excellent again, making it two starts in a row where he has pitched seven scoreless innings. Unfortunately for Singer, the Royals bullpen gave up his lead as soon as they took the ball.

Taylor Clarke was the first man out of the pen and he promptly allowed four consecutive singles and two runs before being removed from the game without recording a single out. Scott Barlow came out of the pen next, but did not fare much better.

He allowed a sac fly, got a strikeout, then gave up a two-run homer that allowed the Twins to cut the deficit to just one run.

Gary Sanchez, who had the RBI sac fly in the eighth, came up with a runner on third and less than two outs in the ninth and got the job done again. Sanchez’s second sac fly tied the game, then fellow former Yankee Gio Urshela put the Twins up for good with an RBI single.

Just a brutal loss for the Royals, who end up getting swept in this series and move to an abysmal 14-26 on the season.

Diamondbacks 4, Cubs 5

Merrill Kelly didn’t have the best start, giving up three earned runs over five innings pitched, but all of that damage came in the bottom of the second inning.

Trying to pitch out of a bases loaded jam with two outs, Kelly made a mistake over the heart of the plate to P.J. Higgins, which he deposited into the right field corner for a bases-clearing RBI triple.

If nothing else, the Diamondbacks lineup at least got Kelly off the hook in the top of the sixth before he was pulled in the bottom half. Jake McCarthy capped off the three-run rally with a single that drove in Christian Walker to tie the game.

Arizona took a lead in the top of the seventh, but it was short-lived, as the Cubs took the advantage back in the bottom of the eighth with a pair of home runs by Patrick Wisdom and Frank Schwindel.

White Sox 3, Yankees 1 (Game 1)

Johnny Cueto is so back.

The 36-year-old has now made two starts for the Chicago White Sox and has yet to allow a run over 12 innings pitched. On the other side, Jameson Taillon was nearly as good, allowing just one run over seven innings pitched.

With Cueto out of the game, the Yankees finally got on the board in the bottom of the eighth when Aaron Judge hit his MLB-leading 15th home run of the season.

Aroldis Chapman entered the game for New York in the top of the ninth in an attempt to preserve the tie game at home, but he was unable to do that. Chapman promptly gave up a homer to AJ Pollock on the second pitch he threw.

After picking up an out, Chapman walked a batter, then gave up an RBI double to Adam Engel, which resulted in the eventual 3-1 final score.

Mets 2, Rockies 0

Taijuan Walker is one of the few pitchers who actually doesn’t seem to mind pitching in Coors Field. Walker entered the day with a career 2.64 ERA in Colorado and became the first starting pitcher this season to go seven scoreless at Coors.

Don’t get it twisted though, no one actually likes to pitch at that altitude.

The Mets won on the strength of Walker and some strong defense behind him, as Luis Guillorme made a couple nice plays over at the hot corner.

Padres 10, Giants 1

The San Diego Padres beat the San Francisco Giants at their own game, bludgeoning them to death by stringing together hits in multiple rallies. The biggest rally came in the fourth, where they scored five runs, but the Padres scored in five of the first six innings and cruised to the blowout win.

Along with outscoring the Giants 10-1, the Padres also out-hit them 17-4. Let’s check in on our own Javier Reyes’ Twitter and see how he processed this offensive explosion.

Sunday’s victory completed a sweep for the Padres, moving them to 27-14 on the season, just a half game back of the Los Angeles Dodgers for first place in the NL West. The Giants on the other hand move to 22-18 and are five games back.

Athletics 1, Angels 4

This was about as one-sided of an affair as it gets, with the Angels taking a lead in the first inning and never looking back.

Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout each homered, as the dynamic duo now have combined for 21 home runs and 61 RBIs on the young season.

White Sox 5, Yankees 0 (Game 2)

The New York Yankees started off this series against the Chicago White Sox with 7-5 victory on Saturday, but they ended up letting the series slip through their fingers on Sunday.

After dropping the first game of their doubleheader, the Yankees closed play for MLB on Sunday with a lifeless effort. Credit Michael Kopech for keeping New York off-balance, as the hard-throwing righty pitched seven scoreless innings where he allowed just one hit and struck out eight.

Still, for the entire game the Yankees recorded just three hits and were shutout. Meanwhile the White Sox offense was not going gangbusters either, as they could do nothing against the opposing starting pitcher.

Luis Severino took the ball for the Yankees and matched Kopech with seven scoreless innings pitched. Severino did allow eight hits, but was effectively able to scatter them, while striking out five batters without issuing a single walk.

Jonathan Loasiga entered in relief and the White Sox bats feasted from there. Chicago tagged Loasiga for four singles and two runs, before the Yankees pulled him in favor of Miguel Castro. Castro ended up allowing both of the inherited runners to score, while also giving up one of his own on this home run by Tim Anderson.

Anderson’s home run capped off the White Sox game-winning five-run rally, advancing them to 21-20 on the season with the series victory. Chicago now gets a much-needed day off, while the Yankees are set to face the Baltimore Orioles in one of the 12 games we have on Monday’s slate.