St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Albert Pujols. Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

Albert Pujols hits homer No. 697, passing Alex Rodriguez for fourth all-time

By Mike Santa Barbara | Last updated 9/11/22

Albert Pujols is certainly living up to his nickname these days.

Less than 24 hours after matching Alex Rodriguez's 696 career home run total, "The Machine" was at it again Sunday against the Pittsburgh Pirates. In the ninth inning, Pujols hit career home run No. 697, passing Rodriguez for sole possession of fourth place on the all-time HR leader board.

PUJOLS IS IN SOLE POSSESION OF 4TH ALL-TIME! pic.twitter.com/UMj2W6wjRp
— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) September 11, 2022

Pujols now trails only three players on the all-time list; Barry Bonds (762), Hank Aaron (755), and Babe Ruth (714).

The long ball also brought Pujols closer to reaching 700 for his career. Pujols is now just three home runs away from becoming just the fourth player in baseball history to reach the milestone.

Pujols has 22 regular season games left to accomplish the feat.

The 43-year-old was red hot in August, finishing with eight home runs and 17 RBI, slashing a remarkable .361/.420/.803 over 61 at-bats.

After starting September off slowly, Pujols has picked it up over the last two games, going 4-for-8 with a double, two home runs, and five RBI.

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