The Path to 700: Albert Pujols's Farewell to St. Louis

The Postseason

The St. Louis Cardinals making the postseason in 2022 represented Albert's tenth appearance. For the 42-year-old veteran, the postseason presented him an opportunity to play for something more than himself. Back in March when Pujols and Mozeliak were in discussions about him returning to St. Louis, Pujols made it clear that the playoffs were his goal.

“It’s been awesome,’’ Pujols says. “I always talked about wanting the opportunity to come back to St. Louis where everything started for me 21 years ago. It’s pretty special, helping this organization win every which way I can. I'm just so glad I could do it for these people because I'm telling you, they mean so much to me."

He and his teammates earned that opportunity, and the club drew a first-round matchup against the sixth-seed Philadelphia Phillies in the National League Wild Card series. The Phillies finished the season with an 87-75 record that was good enough to finish third in the National League East. They had one of baseball's largest payrolls, and their roster was headlined by superstars like J.T. Realmuto, Kyle Schwarber, Bryce Harper, Aaron Nola, and Zack Wheeler. They were not a team to be trifled with.

This series was filled with storylines from the Phillies' dynamic duo of Nola and Wheeler to a potential final postseason run for the big three of Adam Wainwright, Yadier Molina, and Albert Pujols. The Cardinals were underdogs simply due to the imbalance in starting pitching.

In Game 1, Zack Wheeler shut down the Cardinals' offense for 6.1 innings, as he allowed just two hits and one walk. Jose Quintana matched Wheeler for 5.1 innings, and the game was in the hands of both bullpens from that point on. Rookie Juan Yepez, a player known for shadowing Pujols all year, gave the Cardinals the lead in the seventh with a two-run home run, but the wheels would eventually fall off for the team in the ninth inning.

Ryan Helsley was back out in the ninth after finishing the eighth, and he would allow four straight batters to reach base. Andre Pallante relieved Helsley, and he gave up a single to Jean Segura. The Phillies would score six runs that inning and the Cardinals' hopes for a victory in game one were quickly washed away.

Game two was all about Aaron Nola. He threw 6.2 scoreless innings, and Jose Alvarado, Seranthony Dominguez, and Zach Eflin continued that shutout. The Cardinals would rack up seven hits, but they went 0-7 with runners in scoring position. The pitching group of Miles Mikolas, Jordan Montgomery, Giovanny Gallegos, and Jordan Hicks did their part, but the offense couldn't cash in on run-scoring opportunities.

Rather than getting to see Albert continue his final season, fans had to watch their Redbirds get swept by the Phillies. Pitching was the key in this series, as Nola and Wheeler put the kibosh on the Cardinals. Pujols would go 2-8 in the series with two singles and a strikeout, and his storybook 2022 season ended on a sour note.

Just like that, a Cardinal great was departing St. Louis for the second time and baseball for the first.