ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Los Angeles Angels slugger Albert Pujols passed Willie Mays for fifth place on the career home run list, hitting No. 661 on Friday night against Texas.
Pujols connected for a solo homer with two outs in the fifth inning. He sent Wes Benjamin’s fastball on a 1-2 count over the wall in left field.
Pujols didn’t wait long to get No. 662, taking Demarcus Evans deep to left in his next at-bat. He led off the seventh to extend Los Angeles’ lead to 4-2.
The 40-year-old Pujols went into the game with just four home runs this season, and he had connected only once since Aug. 4.
Pujols now trails only Barry Bonds (762), Hank Aaron (755), Babe Ruth (714) and Alex Rodriguez (696).
Pujols, who tied Mays last Sunday at Colorado, has one more season left on his contract with the Angels after this year.
The three-time MVP and 10-time All-Star did most of his long-ball damage during his 11 seasons in St. Louis, where he hit 445 before signing with the Angels after the 2011 season.
He had six 40 or more HR seasons with the Cardinals, with his best year being 2006 when he hit 49 homers and drove in a career-high 137 runs.
AP Sports Writer Tim Booth in Seattle and Baseball Writer Stephen Hawkins in Texas contributed to this report.
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