{"id":255486,"date":"2021-05-21T09:23:19","date_gmt":"2021-05-21T06:23:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/albert-pujols-first-homer-as-a-dodger-helps-lead-to-win\/"},"modified":"2021-05-21T09:23:19","modified_gmt":"2021-05-21T06:23:19","slug":"albert-pujols-first-homer-as-a-dodger-helps-lead-to-win","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/albert-pujols-first-homer-as-a-dodger-helps-lead-to-win\/","title":{"rendered":"#Albert Pujols’ first homer as a Dodger helps lead to win"},"content":{"rendered":"

“#Albert Pujols’ first homer as a Dodger helps lead to win<\/strong>”<\/p>\n

\n

LOS ANGELES \u2014 Albert Pujols was Will Smith\u2019s favorite player growing up. Pujols returned the favor by driving in Smith with his first home run as a Dodger.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat was special,\u201d Smith said. \u201cI\u2019ll remember being on base when he hit his first one as a Dodger and high-fiving when he touched home plate. I look at him as a teammate now, not really an idol.\u201d<\/p>\n

The three-time NL MVP and the fresh-faced catcher just three years into his major league career helped Los Angeles beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 3-2 on Thursday night.<\/p>\n

Smith hit a tiebreaking, solo home run in the seventh inning after Pujols slugged a two-run shot in the second to give the Dodgers a four-game<\/a> sweep, outscoring Arizona 19-6. They went 8-1 on the homestand, and have won four in a row and eight of nine.<\/p>\n

Pujols joined the Dodgers from the Los Angeles Angels on a one-year deal Monday. He introduced himself to Smith, told the 26-year-old catcher not to be intimidated and to ask him anything.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe told me he grew up watching me play. I was like, \u2019Please don\u2019t, you make me older,’\u201d Pujols said. \u201cHe\u2019s pretty special. When he\u2019s hitting in the cage, I keep my eye on him. He has a really special swing. He knows what he wants to do, he\u2019s really mature.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Albert
Albert Pujols belts a two-run homer in the second inning of the Dodgers\u2019 3-2 win over the Diamondbacks.<\/figcaption>
AP<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Smith has proven to be a quick study. He has sought out veteran teammates Mookie Betts and Justin Turner for advice. Now he can add Pujols to his retinue.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not every day you get to see one of the best hitters ever going through his cage routine,\u201d Smith said. \u201cIt\u2019s only going to make me and everyone else around here better.\u201d<\/p>\n

Smith sent the first pitch from Merrill Kelly (2-5) into the lower left-field seats leading off the seventh, giving the Dodgers a 3-2 lead. Smith sparkled on defense, too, throwing out pinch-runner Tim Locastro at second to end the eighth.<\/p>\n

Pujols hit an 0-1 pitch from Kelly to right field in the second, with Josh Reddick jumping to the top of the wall in an attempt to make the catch. Smith, who singled leading off, scored and Pujols was greeted by high-fives from his teammates in the dugout as the Dodgers led 2-0.<\/p>\n

It was Pujols\u2019 668th career home run, most among active players and fifth all-time, and followed 445 he hit for the St. Louis Cardinals and 222 for the Los Angeles Angels. The hit was his 3,256th, breaking a tie with Eddie Murray for 13th on the all-time list.<\/p>\n

Pujols\u2019 arrival has coincided with the Dodgers\u2019 winning streak, but he claims no credit.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese guys are a heckuva ballclub,\u201d he said. \u201cBefore I got there, this team is probably the best team in the major leagues. They know how to win. It\u2019s great to be here. I feel like home.\u201d<\/p>\n

The D-backs were just glad to get out of town, having lost their 10th straight on the road and fifth in a row overall.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve just got to continue teaching and being stubborn and doing what we can to help these players push forward each day,\u201d Arizona manager Torey Lovullo said.<\/p>\n

David Price opened a bullpen game for the Dodgers, his first start since Sept. 1, 2019. The left-hander, who opted out last season because of the pandemic, allowed three hits and struck out one in two innings.<\/p>\n

He was followed by Jimmy Nelson, Alex Vesia, Joe Kelly, Victor Gonzalez, Blake Treinen and closer Kenley Jansen, who earned his 10th save.<\/p>\n

Eduardo Escobar tied the game at 2 with a two-out, two-run homer off Joe Kelly in the sixth. Escobar had a two-run shot a night earlier in a 4-2 loss. He singled in the eighth for his 900th career hit and got the ball in return, a rare bright spot for the scuffling D-backs.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a really, really, really tough moment for everybody,\u201d Escobar said. \u201cWhen hitting is good, pitcher not throw well. When pitching good, hitters not hitting. I still believe in my guys.\u201d<\/p>\n

The D-backs had runners at the corners later in the inning. Reddick reached on center fielder Chris Taylor\u2019s fielding error. Taylor thought right fielder Mookie Betts was going to catch the ball, so he stopped and looked at Betts and the ball dropped.<\/p>\n

Justin Turner made a diving stab on a ball hit by David Peralta, but he threw it away at first and the error allowed Reddick to move to third. Gonzalez (1-0) relieved Joe Kelly and struck out Domingo Leyba to end the threat.\n <\/p><\/div>\n

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Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

“#Albert Pujols’ first homer as a Dodger helps lead to win” LOS ANGELES \u2014 Albert Pujols was Will Smith\u2019s favorite player growing up. Pujols returned the favor by driving in Smith with his first home run as a Dodger. \u201cThat was special,\u201d Smith said. \u201cI\u2019ll remember being on base when he hit his first one…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":255487,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/05\/Albert-Pujols.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=1200","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[70897],"tags":[106675,71484,102536,72311,8326,16221],"class_list":["post-255486","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-5-21-21","tag-albert-pujols","tag-arizona-diamondbacks","tag-los-angeles-dodgers","tag-mlb","tag-will-smith"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/255486","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=255486"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/255486\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/255487"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=255486"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=255486"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=255486"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}