St. Louis Cardinals: 20 Years Ago, Albert Pujols became an official Cub killer

Let's return to a fun year for the St. Louis Cardinals: 2004. The Cardinals entered Wrigley Field on July 19th for a two-game series with the Chicago Cubs. St. Louis ballooned their NL Central division lead to eight games over the second-place Cubs by winning their first eight games of July and 11 out of their first 13. The first game of the series was a testy affair that saw Carlos Zambrano hitting Jim Edmonds twice in the Cardinals' 5-4 victory.

Game Two appeared to be a Chicago Cubs' romp, but MVP candidate Albert Pujols had something to say about it.

Pujols got the Cardinals on the board with an RBI double off Chicago southpaw Glendon Rush for an early 1-0 lead. The Cubs responded in the bottom of the second with seven runs thanks to two two-run home runs by Derek Lee and Michael Barrett, a one-out RBI double by Corey Patterson, and a two-out single by Moises Alou that chased starting pitcher Matt Morris from the game.

Down 7-1, Pujols hit his first home run of the game off a first-pitch curveball by Rush. In some foreshadowing, then-Chicago Cubs announcer Chip Caray stated this on the WGN broadcast after the home run:

"Pujols is two-for-two. 25 homers, 67 driven in, and it's a 7-2 game. That's why this lead is not safe today."

An Aramis Ramírez leadoff home run off Cal Eldred in the next half inning made it 8-2 Cubs. Both teams failed to score until the top of the sixth when Pujols began the Cardinals' rally with a single up the middle. Scott Rolen and Jim Edmons both singled to bring in Pujols. Francis Beltrán came on in relief and gifted the Cardinals two walks, the second of which made it 8-4.

So Taguchi hit a soft ground ball that bounced over Beltrán's glove to short to score Edmonds from third. Dusty Baker summoned left-handed reliever Kent Mercker to face Ray Lankford. Lankford drove an 0-and-1 fastball to deep center field but caught on the warning track. Chicago still commanded the lead, but St. Louis held the momentum.

Kyle Farnsworth came on in relief to start the seventh inning when The Machine greeted him with his second home run of the game. On a first-pitch fastball down the middle, Pujols smashed a line drive into the left-field bleachers to make it 8-7 Cubs.

"That young man is as impressive as there is in this game. Hasn't put up the longevity of numbers as Barry Bonds, but give him some time."

While Pujols became the story of this game, So Taguchi hit the game-tying home run off Farnsworth in the top of the eighth. On a 3-and-1 pitch from Farnsworth, Taguchi squared up a center-cut fastball over the bleachers.

In the ninth, Édgar Rentería reached on an infield single off reliever LaTroy Hawkins to bring up Albert Pujols. With boos murmuring in the crowd, Pujols drove a 1-and-0 fastball to right field for their first lead since the first inning.

"Runner goes. Pitch cut on, driven right field pretty deep. Sammy [Sosa] back. Sammy leaps. It is in the basket, I think. Yes, it is! Pujols a five-hit, three-home run game. Unbelievable!"

A two-out Reggie Sanders home run was the final tally for the Cardinals, as Jason Isringhausen held off a Chicago late-inning rally to close out the game and secure the win. This victory completed the two-game sweep of the Cubs and expanded the Cardinals' lead in the NL Central division to 10 games.

The 2004 Cardinals ran away with the NL Central division crown and clinched the NL pennant, while the 2004 Cubs spiraled on and off the field.

A 2021 story by SB Nation's Bleed Cubbie Clue revealed that no Cardinals' hitter from 2001 through 2021 had done more damage to the Cubs than Albert Pujols. That's significant as this story broke after Pujols was released by the Los Angeles Angels, ten years after he left St. Louis. 

Pujols hit 59 career home runs against the Cubs during his storied career. In his last career at-bat against the Cubs, Pujols hit what proved to be the game-winning home run on September 4th, 2022 that finished a three-game sweep of the Cubs at Busch Stadium.

It was a fitting end for one of the Cardinals' biggest legends and one of the Cubs' biggest villains.