http://tinyurl.com/2wsast Pujols enters finale with 99 runs, 99 walks By Derrick Goold ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH 09/30/2007 PITTSBURGH — Way back when he was off to a slow start, Cardinals first baseman Albert Pujols told anyone who asked that his usual numbers would be there at the end. But as the end neared, even he had his doubts. "It was difficult to miss those six games at home when you definitely want to be in there, you want to be playing," Pujols said Saturday. "It's tough being injured like that. It was tough to deal with. You want to do whatever it takes to win and let the numbers happen." They have happened. Pujols scored his 99th run Saturday night in the Cardinals' 7-3 victory at Pittsburgh, and he enters Sunday's season finale a walk shy of the first 100-walk season of his career. The last-week burst of stats has his numbers where they've always been. He has his seventh consecutive season of at least 100 RBIs, a fine complement to seven years of 30 homers and at least a .300 average. One more run will mean his seventh consecutive 100-run season. His ninth-inning RBI single Saturday raised his batting average to .330, giving him the chance at a fifth straight season with at least that average. "Just like last year, just like his career," manager Tony La Russa said. "Look at the base hits he got (Saturday). They were pitching him like he's 0-2. Nasty pitches. ... This guy is incredible. That's why I say there's no better hitter in the big leagues, and all of those numbers is a way to explain how great he is." Despite a subpar start and a season spent negotiating with an aching hamstring and, lately, a strained calf muscle, Pujols remains in rarified company. If he scores one more run, Pujols will be one of four batters with at least a .300 average, 30 homers, 100 RBIs and 100 runs. Two of the other three are MVP favorites — New York Yankees' Alex Rodriguez and Colorado's Matt Holliday. The third is David Ortiz, Boston's designated hitter. Ortiz and Pujols would be the only members of the three to have fewer strikeouts than walks. Ortiz has 110 walks to 101 strikeouts. Pujols hasn't struck out this month. Pujols has 56 strikeouts this season, and he enters Sunday's finale without a strikeout in a career-high run of 107 plate appearances. The former MVP said it's not lost on him how his first 100-walk season could be the season he began by fishing for hits outside the strike zone. Pujols hit .250 in April, had 12 strikeouts in 92 at-bats and found himself off-balance and reaching for pitches he'd sooner lay off. "The way I started this season, I wasn't really fighting myself, but I wasn't myself," Pujols said. "I wasn't being comfortable at the plate, like I was trying to do too much. Now I trust myself. I'm more comfortable. I can let the ball get deep and trust my hands." Trusting his leg was the obstacle. After his three-RBI game on Sept. 17, Pujols was five RBIs short of 100, seven runs from 100 and seven walks from 100. That's when the calf barked and he had two at-bats over the next six games. Reaching the personal centuries seemed unlikely. If he hit, could he run? If he couldn't run, how could he score? He's answered those questions with five consecutive multi-hit games, four games with at least a run scoring and an RBI in four consecutive. His 100th RBI came Wednesday. [email protected] | 314-340-8285 --

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