September 21, 2001: Albert Pujols’ first career grand slam lifts Cardinals over Pirates

Already a history-making All-Star and National League rookie RBI record-holder, Albert Pujols added another milestone to his 2001 breakout season on September 21 at PNC Park. Pujols’ first big-league grand slam snapped a ninth-inning tie and gave the surging St. Louis Cardinals a 9-5 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Less than five years after leaving the Dominican Republic for the United States, just over two years after graduating from high school early to play at a junior college, and 22 months after St. Louis selected him in the 13th round of the June 1999 draft, 21-year-old Jose Alberto Pujols was the Cardinals’ starting left fielder on Opening Day 2001.1 He broke into the majors like few players ever, becoming the Cardinals’ first rookie All-Star since 1955,2 shattering a 71-year-old record for most RBIs by an NL rookie,3 and contending for the league’s batting title and hit crown well into September.4

The Cardinals, who had won the NL Central Division in 2000 but lost the NLCS to the New York Mets, had the postseason in sight when they arrived in Pittsburgh on September 20. With six wins in a row and nine in 10 games – spanning the major leagues’ six-day pause after the September 11 terrorist attacks – they led the NL wild-card race and still had a shot at the division title.5 The Pirates, in their first season at PNC Park, had the NL’s worst record.6

A 9-1 win in the series opener gave St. Louis a seven-game winning streak and a 2½-game edge in the wild-card standings, while keeping them 4½ games behind the Houston Astros in the division.7 Pujols went hitless but drew two walks and scored his 102nd run of the season. Two games under .500 on July 13, the Cardinals had won 40 of their last 69, most of them after manager Tony La Russa had shifted Pujols to cleanup full-time in August.8

In Friday night’s second game of the series, the Cardinals got on the board in the first against Pittsburgh starter Bronson Arroyo. J.D. Drew slapped a two-out double down the right-field line. Pujols, starting in left, one of four positions he played for 39 or more games as a rookie, took a breaking ball for a strike, then lined a double into the gap in right-center. Drew scored on Pujols’ 121st RBI of the season.

Arroyo cooled off the Cardinals after their early outburst, starting with a called third strike on Mark McGwire – who had hit his 579th career homer a night earlier but was batting only .188 in his final major-league season9 – to open the second. The 24-year-old righty held St. Louis scoreless on one hit from the second inning through the fourth, retiring 10 in a row through the first out of the fifth and recording four strikeouts, including McGwire again in the fourth.

St. Louis re-ignited in the fifth. Mike Matheny singled with one out. Starting pitcher Darryl Kile squared to bunt, pulled his bat back, and drove Arroyo’s pitch deep to left. The ball hit on the warning track and bounced into the stands. Matheny stopped at third on the book-rule double.

With the infield in, Craig Paquette – at leadoff with regular first-place hitter Fernando Viña sidelined after getting hit by a pitch in the previous game10 – fell behind 1-and-2. Arroyo’s next delivery skipped past catcher Jason Kendall for a wild pitch, and Matheny scored. Paquette then singled up the middle, driving in Kile for a 3-0 Cardinals’ lead.

St. Louis tacked on another run when Paquette stole second, moved to third on Placido Polanco’s groundout, and, after the Pirates intentionally walked Drew, scored when Aramis Ramírez misplayed Pujols’ broken-bat bouncer to third for an error.

In search of his 15th win of the season, Kile – who had pitched a complete-game shutout and eight scoreless innings in two previous appearances against Pittsburgh in 200111 – zipped through the first five innings on 62 pitches, limiting the Pirates to one hit and dropping side-arm to fan Adam Hyzdu for the final out of the fifth.

But Kile’s night unraveled quickly in the sixth. Chad Hermansen, a first-round draft pick whose career had stalled out over four seasons in Triple A,12 had entered in right as part of a double switch in the top of the sixth.13 He led off with a liner that second baseman Polanco appeared to misread off the bat; the ball landed in right-center for a single.

Kendall’s bloop single to right, hitting on the foul line, gave the Pirates runners at first and second.

Rookie shortstop Jack Wilson, traded from the Cardinals to the Pirates for reliever Jason Christiansen in July 2000, grounded a single through the left side.14 Hermansen beat Pujols’ throw home for the Pirates’ first run against Kile in more than 22 innings.

When Brian Giles crushed Kile’s next pitch high over the right-field wall for a three-run homer, his 35th of the season, the Pirates had drawn even at 4-4, scoring four runs in a six-pitch span.

Mike Lincoln was on the mound for Pittsburgh in the seventh, and Paquette drove a one-out double to the warning track in center. After Polanco took a called third strike, Pirates manager Lloyd McClendon brought in lefty Scott Sauerbeck to face Drew.

Drew reached out for Sauerbeck’s full-count breaking ball and dropped a single into center, bringing in Paquette for a 5-4 St. Louis lead.

The Pirates answered in their half of the inning. LaRussa had batted for Kile in the seventh, and Mike Timlin was St. Louis’s new pitcher. Timlin retired the first two batters, but Hermansen hit a sharp grounder near third; Paquette knocked it down for a single.

Hermansen scooted to third when Kendall lunged for a 1-and-2 pitch and served it over Polanco’s head and into center for a single. Wilson followed with a liner into the gap in right-center. As Hermansen scored the tying run, Drew hustled to cut the ball off on one hop, holding Kendall at third on Wilson’s double.

“[Drew’s play was] a game-saver right there,” Wilson said afterward. “If it gets by [Drew], we take the lead.”15

La Russa gave the ball to lefty Steve Kline, making his league-leading 82nd appearance of 2001, with Giles up and two runners in scoring position. Giles ripped a low liner toward first, but McGwire dived for the backhand catch, preserving the tie.

Pittsburgh’s Mike Fetters worked around Edgar Renteria’s two-out triple in the eighth, and Luther Hackman pitched a one-two-three bottom of the eighth, with Pujols tracking down pinch-hitter Craig Wilson’s fly ball on the warning track in front of the 410-foot sign in left-center. The game went to the ninth.

Omar Olivares was the fifth Pirates pitcher. The 34-year-old right-hander had reached the majors with the Cardinals in 1990; Pittsburgh was his eighth big-league team in 12 seasons. Olivares had been an effective pitcher with the Anaheim Angels and Oakland A’s as recently as 1998 and 1999, but a poor 2000 season led to Oakland’s dealing him to Pittsburgh in March 2001, as injuries weakened the Pirate rotation.16 Olivares had moved to the bullpen in June after a series of ineffective starts; he carried a 6.18 ERA into this appearance.17

Miguel Cairo opened the Cardinals ninth by batting for Hackman and singling up the middle. Paquette sacrificed Cairo to second. Polanco slapped a two-strike pitch into right for a single; Cairo held up to see if the ball went through, then stopped at third.

Drew walked on five pitches. The bases were loaded for Pujols.

The first pitch missed outside; Pujols fouled off the next one. Oliveras’s 1-and-1 was a sinker, down and in, and Pujols reached down and lifted it deep to left.

The ball landed about five rows back in the left-field bleachers. Pujols had his first career grand slam and 36th homer of the season, and the Cardinals led, 9-5.18

Gene Stechshulte closed out the Pirates in the ninth. With their eighth straight win, the Cardinals remained 2½ games ahead of the Chicago Cubs in the wild-card standings and closed to 3½ back of the Astros in the division.19

“I wasn’t even thinking about hitting a grand slam,” said Pujols, whose 703 career home runs over 22 major-league seasons included 16 with the bases loaded. “The worst thing you can do is hit into a ground-ball double play. I just wanted to hit the sacrifice fly and score the run. That’s all we needed.”20

“When [Pujols] goes to bat in the ninth inning, I’m saying, ‘We just put too much on him,’” La Russa added. “[Olivares] is going to throw that sinker and [Pujols] is going to hit a double-play ball. There’s no way he’s going to drive this run home.”

“He got all four of them.”21

Acknowledgments

This article was fact-checked by Kevin Larkin and copy-edited by Len Levin.

Sources

In addition to the sources cited in the Notes, the author consulted Baseball-Reference.com and Retrosheet.org for pertinent information, including the box score and play-by-play. He also reviewed a recording of the FOX Sports Net television broadcast of the game, posted on YouTube by Cardinals Baseball Classics.

https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/PIT/PIT200109210.shtml

https://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/2001/B09210PIT2001.htm

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CHYaWlY7fFA

Notes

1 Mike Eisenbath, “Man Oh Man! Albert Pujols Has Become an Overnight Sensation at 21, Mainly Because He Displays a Maturity That Defies His Years,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, May 20, 2001: D1.

2 Luis Arroyo was a rookie right-handed pitcher for the Cardinals in 1955. He had a 10-3 record and 2.44 ERA at the All-Star break in 1955 but finished with an 11-8 record and 4.19 ERA. Eddie Kazak, a third baseman and rookie in 1949, was the most recent Cardinals rookie position player selected as an All-Star. Randy Covitz, “All Eyes on Albert: Pujols’ Family Gathers in Overland Park to Watch Its All-Star,” Kansas City Star, July 11, 2001: D4.

3 Wally Berger drove in 119 runs for the Boston Braves in 1930. Pujols recorded his 120th RBI of 2001 in the Cardinals’ 8-2 win over the Milwaukee Brewers on September 20. Mike Eisenbath, “Morris, Pujols Add Chapters to Unlikely Success Stories,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, September 20, 2001: D1.

4 Through September 20, Pujols had a .336 batting average, eight points behind NL leader Larry Walker of the Colorado Rockies. His 180 hits were six fewer than those of leader Rich Aurilia of the San Francisco Giants. “Leaders,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, September 22, 2001: 6 OT.

5 Eisenbath, “Morris, Pujols Add Chapters to Unlikely Success Stories.”

6 With starting pitchers Francisco Cordova and Kris Benson lost for the season with injuries and Jason Schmidt sidelined until mid-May, the Pirates fell 23 games under .500 by June 9. A slide of 15 losses in 19 games then followed trade-deadline deals of veterans Schmidt, Terry Mulholland, John Vander Wal, and Mike Williams in late July. Robert Dvorchak, “Season in the Gutter,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, October 14, 2001: D3.

7 Rick Hummel, “Cardinals Win Seventh in a Row: Williams Throws 3-Hitter; McGwire Hits 25th Homer,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, September 21, 2001: D1.

8 Bernie Miklasz, “La Russa Deserves Credit for McGwire-La Russa Lineup Switch,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, September 22, 2001: 3 OT.

9 Paul Meyer, “McGwire Sparks Cardinals Rout: 3rd-Inning Outburst Costly as Pirates Fall, 9-1,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, September 21, 2001: B-1; Rick Hummel, “Homer Fails to Improve McGwire’s Mood,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, September 21, 2001: D7.

10 Viña returned from his wrist injury on September 23. Rick Hummel, “McGwire Touts Pujols for NL MVP,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, September 22, 2001: 4 OT.

11 Mike Eisenbath, “Cardinals Keep Feasting on Pirates as Kile Hurls Shutout: Win Streak Hits Nine, with Six over Pittsburgh,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, May 17, 2001: D1; Rick Hummel, “Cardinals Get Too Much of Nothing Again: Kile’s Great Effort Goes to Waste Against the Pirates,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, July 23, 2001: B1.

12 Paul Meyer, “Hermansen Running out of Options,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, August 17, 2001: C-6.

13 Mike Lincoln had relieved Arroyo in the sixth and became the Pirates’ eighth-place hitter. Hermansen replaced Hyzdu in right and took over the ninth spot in the order.

14 Robert Dvorchak, “Wilson to Start at Shortstop,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, March 27, 2001: D-7.

15 Robert Dvorchak, “Pujols Slams Pirates in Ninth: HR Gives Cardinals Eighth in Row, 9-5,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, September 22, 2001.

16 Robert Dvorchak, “Pirates’ Rotation Gets Help: Trade for Oakland Starter,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, March 29, 2001: D-1.

17 Robert Dvorchak, “Necessary Adjustments: Pirates Recall Wilson, Shift Rotation; Bell’s Status Uncertain,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, June 13, 2001: D-3. Olivares’ major-league career ended after three more appearances with the Pirates in 2001. He retired with a 77-86 record and 4.67 ERA in 349 major-league games.

18 Prior to this game, Pujols had hit one home run at PNC Park, a solo shot off Olivares on May 15. Pujols finished his career with 35 homers in 102 games at PNC Park, including the 703rd and final home run of his career, against Pittsburgh’s Mitch Keller on October 3, 2022.

19 St. Louis won nine of its next 13 games to take a one-game lead over the Astros heading into the final day of the season on October 7. The Cardinals, however, lost to Houston in the season finale, leaving them in second place by the tiebreaker of wins in head-to-head competition. In the postseason as the NL’s wild card, the Cardinals lost the NLDS to the eventual World Series champion Arizona Diamondbacks in five games. Rick Hummel, “Tame Defeat Sends Cardinals to Arizona: Redbirds Settle for Wild Card as Astros Rip Kile,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, October 8, 2001: C1; Rick Hummel, “Cards Fall in Round 1: Diamondbacks Scratch Out the Winning Run in 9th Inning,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, October 15, 2001: C5.

20 Rick Hummel, “Pujols Checks off Item on To-Do List to Beat the Pirates,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, September 22, 2001: 5 OT.

21 “Pujols Checks off Item on To-Do List to Beat the Pirates.” The grand slam gave Pujols 83 extra-base hits for the season, breaking Johnny Frederick’s NL rookie record, set with the Brooklyn Robins in 1929. Pujols finished his rookie season with a .329 batting average, 37 home runs, 112 runs scored, and 130 RBIs. He was named NL Rookie of the Year and was fourth in the MVP voting. His RBI total remained the NL rookie record as of 2022; Pete Alonzo of the New York Mets drove in 120 runs during his 2019 rookie season. Rick Hummel, “Pujols Is NL’s Top Rookie: His Rookie Season Ranks Among Cards’ Best Ever,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, November 13, 2001: C3.