Los Angeles Angels first baseman Albert Pujols hit his 513th career home run in Tuesday's game against the Los Angeles Dodgers. According to MLB Milestones' Twitter account, that moved him into sole possession of 21st place on MLB's all-time home runs list.
Pujols' long ball, an eighth-inning shot off Dodgers setup man Brian Wilson, was his 21st of the 2014 season.
The home run tied the contest at 4-4, but Angels reliever Kevin Jepsen was unable to hold off the Dodgers in the ninth inning, as Juan Uribe scored the walk-off winning run on third baseman David Freese's errant throw.
After an injury-plagued 2013 in which he played in only 99 games and hit a career-low .258, Pujols has already appeared in 111 games in 2014 and is on pace to exceed his 155-game average through the first 12 years of his career from 2001 to 2012.
However, it does appear that the 34-year-old nine-time All-Star has slowed down a bit.
His .275 batting average this season is the second-worst of his career, only besting the aforementioned .258 from 2013. Also, his 2014 on-base percentage, slugging percentage and OPS are only better than his marks from 2013 and sit significantly lower than his career numbers.
Pujols' home run Tuesday broke a three-way tie for 21st on the all-time home runs list, vaulting the former St. Louis Cardinal past a pair of Hall of Famers, Eddie Matthews and Ernie Banks.
Pujols now needs eight home runs to catch a trio of Hall of Fame greats tied in 18th place at 521—Willie McCovey, recently inducted Frank Thomas and Boston Red Sox legend Ted Williams.
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