Albert Pujols’ two solo home runs were enough to lead the St. Louis Cardinals to a 6-1 victory over the visiting Arizona Diamondbacks Friday night. Albert continues to lead the major leagues with current totals of 34 home runs and 89 RBI.
The multi-home run game was Pujols’ eighth such contest this season and the Cardinals’ tenth in 2009. It was the 31st of Pujols’ eight-and-a-half year career.
In at least the last 55 years, since 1954, only Mark McGwire (ten in 1998 and nine in 1999) has logged more multi-home run games in a single Cardinals season.
As a team, the 1999 and 2000 clubs each had 18 single-player, multi-home run games – the most for the Cardinals in a season since at least 1954.
Cardinals multi-home run games by season (1954-present)
| Yr | Tm | Leader | |||||||||
| 2009 | 10 | Albert Pujols | 8 | Ryan Ludwick | 2 | ||||||
| 2008 | 10 | Albert Pujols | 3 | Ryan Ludwick | 3 | Troy Glaus | 3 | Rick Ankiel | 1 | ||
| 2007 | 8 | Albert Pujols | 4 | Rick Ankiel | 2 | Ryan Ludwick | 1 | Yadier Molina | 1 | ||
| 2006 | 11 | Albert Pujols | 4 | Chris Duncan | 2 | Juan Encarnacion | 2 | Scott Rolen | 1 | Scott Spiezio, Ron Belliard | 1 |
| 2005 | 10 | Larry Walker | 3 | Albert Pujols | 2 | Jim Edmonds | 2 | Reggie Sanders | 2 | So Taguchi | 1 |
| 2004 | 15 | Scott Rolen | 5 | Albert Pujols | 4 | Jim Edmonds | 3 | Reggie Sanders | 2 | Larry Walker | 1 |
| 2003 | 13 | Jim Edmonds | 5 | Albert Pujols | 4 | Tino Martinez | 2 | Scott Rolen | 1 | Edgar Renteria | 1 |
| 2002 | 5 | Jim Edmonds | 1 | Scott Rolen | 1 | Tino Martinez | 1 | Placido Polanco | 1 | Edgar Renteria | 1 |
| 2001 | 10 | Mark McGwire | 3 | Jim Edmonds | 2 | Albert Pujols | 2 | J.D. Drew | 2 | Ray Lankford | 1 |
| 2000 | 18 | Jim Edmonds | 4 | Ray Lankford | 4 | Mark McGwire | 2 | Tatis, Drew | 2 | Paquette, Marrero, Dunston, Clark | 1 |
| 1999 | 18 | Mark McGwire | 9 | Fernando Tatis | 4 | Ray Lankford | 3 | Darren Bragg | 1 | Edgar Renteria | 1 |
| 1998 | 15 | Mark McGwire | 10 | J.D. Drew | 2 | Ray Lankford | 1 | Ron Gant | 1 | Gary Gaetti | 1 |
| 1997 | 10 | Mark McGwire | 4 | Ray Lankford | 3 | Delino DeShields | 1 | Ron Gant | 1 | Gary Gaetti | 1 |
| 1996 | 10 | Tom Pagnozzi | 3 | Ray Lankford | 3 | Gary Gaetti | 2 | Ron Gant | 1 | Brian Jordan | 1 |
| 1995 | 3 | Brian Jordan | 2 | Todd Zeile | 1 | ||||||
| 1994 | 6 | Todd Zeile | 2 | Gregg Jefferies | 2 | Ray Lankford | 1 | Geronimo Pena | 1 | ||
| 1993 | 5 | Brian Jordan | 2 | Mark Whiten | 2 | Gregg Jefferies | 1 | ||||
| 1992 | 0 | ||||||||||
| 1991 | 4 | Bernard Gilkey | 1 | Felix Jose | 1 | Pedro Guerrero | 1 | Ray Lankford | 1 | ||
| 1990 | 2 | Pedro Guerrero | 1 | Milt Thompson | 1 | ||||||
| 1989 | 1 | Tom Brunansky | 1 | ||||||||
| 1988 | 2 | Tom Brunansky | 1 | Tony Pena | 1 | ||||||
| 1987 | 8 | Jack Clark | 6 | Curt Ford | 1 | Jim Lindeman | 1 | ||||
| 1986 | 1 | Willie McGee | 1 | ||||||||
| 1985 | 0 | ||||||||||
| 1984 | 1 | David Green | 1 | ||||||||
| 1983 | 4 | George Hendrick | 2 | Darrell Porter | 1 | Lonnie Smith | 1 | ||||
| 1982 | 3 | George Hendrick | 2 | Darrell Porter | 1 | ||||||
| 1981 | 2 | George Hendrick | 1 | Gene Tenace | 1 | ||||||
| 1980 | 9 | George Hendrick | 2 | Ted Simmons | 2 | Dane Iorg | 1 | Keith Hernandez | 1 | Reitz, Durham, Kennedy | 1 |
| 1979 | 4 | Ted Simmons | 2 | George Hendrick | 1 | Garry Templeton | 1 | ||||
| 1978 | 1 | George Hendrick | 1 | ||||||||
| 1977 | 1 | Ken Reitz | 1 | ||||||||
| 1976 | 1 | Reggie Smith | 1 | ||||||||
| 1975 | 4 | Reggie Smith | 1 | Ted Simmons | 1 | Bake McBride | 1 | Buddy Bradford | 1 | ||
| 1974 | 4 | Reggie Smith | 3 | Ted Simmons | 1 | ||||||
| 1973 | 1 | Joe Torre | 1 | ||||||||
| 1972 | 0 | ||||||||||
| 1971 | 3 | Joe Hague | 2 | Joe Torre | 1 | ||||||
| 1970 | 6 | Dick Allen | 4 | Joe Hague | 1 | Lou Brock | 1 | ||||
| 1969 | 1 | Steve Huntz | 1 | ||||||||
| 1968 | 2 | Curt Flood | 1 | Roger Maris | 1 | ||||||
| 1967 | 6 | Lou Brock | 4 | Orlando Cepeda | 2 | ||||||
| 1966 | 3 | Tim McCarver | 1 | Julian Javier | 1 | Orlando Cepeda | 1 | ||||
| 1965 | 3 | Bill White | 2 | Curt Flood | 1 | ||||||
| 1964 | 3 | Ken Boyer | 1 | Julian Javier | 1 | Charlie James | 1 | ||||
| 1963 | 3 | Ken Boyer | 2 | Charlie James | 1 | ||||||
| 1962 | 3 | Ken Boyer | 1 | Stan Musial | 1 | Carl Sawatski | 1 | ||||
| 1961 | 9 | Ken Boyer | 3 | Bill White | 3 | Stan Musial | 2 | Daryl Spencer | 1 | ||
| 1960 | 6 | Ken Boyer | 3 | Bill White | 1 | Curt Flood | 1 | Leon Wagner | 1 | ||
| 1959 | 2 | Stan Musial | 1 | Hal Smith | 1 | ||||||
| 1958 | 5 | Stan Musial | 2 | Ken Boyer | 2 | Joe Cunningham | 1 | ||||
| 1957 | 4 | Stan Musial | 2 | Wally Moon | 1 | Del Ennis | 1 | ||||
| 1956 | 6 | Ken Boyer | 3 | Stan Musial | 1 | Wally Moon | 1 | Bill Sarni | 1 | ||
| 1955 | 8 | Ken Boyer | 2 | Stan Musial | 2 | Rip Repulski | 2 | Wally Moon | 1 | Bill Virdon | 1 |
| 1954 | 8 | Stan Musial | 6 | Rip Repulski | 1 | Joe Cunningham | 1 |
Thanks to Tom Orf for the above table.
With 8 2-HR games already with 2.4 months to go, Pujols is presumably ahead of McGwire’s pace in 1998 and 1999.
In four seasons past, Pujols has mustered 2-HR games four times. In 2009, he has already doubled his past peak.