Rewind to Pujols' massive 5-for-5, 3-HR game vs. the Cubs
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In its new series "Hidden Classics," MLB is digging into its archives and dusting off big games you might have forgotten about from your favorite stars of yesteryear. Stay tuned to MLB.com/HiddenClassics and MLB's YouTube channel for more Hidden Classic games later this month.
The Cardinals and Cubs have squared off more than 2,500 times in a rivalry that stretches back as long as the gas-engine automobile. And there’s no question that one of the very best single-game performances in the entire span of that head-to-head belongs to Albert Pujols.
You can’t list Pujols’ greatest career games without mentioning July 20, 2004, a day when “The Machine” almost single-handedly lifted St. Louis over Chicago. In the second installment of MLB’s new video series, “Hidden Classics,” we revisit that windy day game at Chicago’s Wrigley Field where Pujols reached hitting nirvana: Five hits in five at-bats, three homers and a double for good measure.
The “Hidden Classics” series dives into MLB’s vast archive and dusts off the tapes from games you might not have seen in a while, forgotten about completely or just plain missed the first time around. Cubs fans might have suppressed the memory of this particular contest that the North Siders led, 7-1, after just two innings. That was the score when Pujols – who relished this rivalry and the moments when his club needed him most – clubbed his first homer of the day off Chicago’s Glendon Rusch.
“Every time we played Chicago, I felt like it was almost playoff time,” Pujols tells us in this week’s lookback. “I enjoyed going to Wrigley Field. It’s almost like I took it to another level.”
That blast to right-center field woke up Pujols and the Cardinals, who kept leveling up from there in a high-scoring affair at Wrigley. Watch the entire condensed game in the video player above or on MLB’s YouTube channel. Check out Episode 1 of “Hidden Classics,” which featured Ken Griffey Jr. and the Mariners’ final game at the Kingdome, here. And you can stay tuned for future installments of this series by bookmarking MLB.com/HiddenClassics.