Albert Pujols goes 0-for-3 in the Angels' 5-1 win over the Cardinals.
Angels win 7th straight as Albert Pujols faces Cards for 1st time
July, 2, 113
JUL 2
9:57
PM ET
Associated Press
ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Jered Weaver earned his second win of an injury-plagued season with help from a five-run second inning, and the Los Angeles Angels extended their winning streak to seven games Tuesday night with a 5-1 victory over St. Louis in the Cardinals' first game at Angel Stadium.
St. Louis was the only National League club that had never played at the "Big A," having hosted the three previous interleague series between the teams in 2002, 2007 and 2010.
Three-time NL MVP Albert Pujols, who spent his first 12 major league seasons with the Cardinals before signing a $240 million, 10-year contract with the Angels in December 2011 as a free agent, played his first game against his former club and was 0 for 3 with two strikeouts and a walk as the designated hitter while Mark Trumbo started at first base.
NEW YORK -- Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeira has had surgery to repair the tendon sheath in his right wrist.
The Yankees said Tuesday that the switch-hitter had the operation Monday at NYU Hospital. The surgery was performed by Dr. Keith Raskin and "went as planned."
The team has previously said Teixeira will miss the rest of the season.
Teixeira was injured in early March preparing for the World Baseball Classic with Team USA. He returned May 31 after missing 53 games. He got off to a good start before slumping to a .151 average with three home runs and 12 RBIs in 53 at-bats.
The five-time Gold Glove winner last played June 15 when he took himself out of a game against the Los Angeles Angels.
Pujols takes his first crack at Cardinals
July, 2, 2013
JUL 2
3:43
PM ET
By ESPN Stats & Information | ESPN.com
Harry How/Getty ImagesAlbert Pujols faces the Cardinals for first time in his career on Tuesday.
On Tuesday, Pujols faces the St. Louis Cardinals for the first time since leaving via free agency following the 2011 season.
Albert Pujols
Cardinals Ranks
| Rank | ||
|---|---|---|
| Slug Pct | .617 | 2nd |
| OPS | 1.037 | 2nd |
| HR | 445 | 2nd |
| RBI | 1,329 | 2nd |
| XBH | 915 | 2nd |
He’s second in franchise history in nearly every power hitting category, from home runs to slugging percentage.
But Pujols hasn’t quite been the same hitter with the Los Angeles Angels. In fact, he’s been less productive than the Cardinals who have replaced him.
Since the start of 2012, Cardinals first basemen have combined for an .826 OPS, while Pujols has had an uncharacteristically low .822 OPS. The 173 combined RBI at first base for the Cardinals is the most for any team in the majors over the past two seasons.
Albert Pujols
MLB Career
| w/ STL | w/ LAA | |
|---|---|---|
| BA | .328 | .273 |
| Slug Pct | .617 | .486 |
| OBP | .420 | .336 |
| AB per HR | 14.2 | 21.5 |
Perhaps the bigger drama will come when Pujols returns to play in front of the fans in St. Louis, but Tuesday won’t be without drama when he takes the field against his old club.
Here’s a look at some of the most memorable performances in which a star player faced his former team for the first time.
Willie Mays (Mets) versus Giants -- May 14, 1972
After 2,857 games with the Giants, Mays finally suited up for another team -- and played against the Giants. His first hit for the Mets was a go-ahead solo home run in the fifth inning.
Tom Seaver (Reds) at Mets -- Aug. 21, 1977
Seaver received a hero’s welcome with three separate standing ovations from the Shea Stadium crowd. He struck out 11 while allowing one run in a complete-game, 5-1 win. “It’s hard to put into words how much this game meant to me,” Seaver said.
Roger Clemens (Blue Jays) at Red Sox -- July 12, 1997
Back in Boston for the first time, Clemens struck out a Blue Jays franchise-record 16 Red Sox over eight innings in a 3-1 win. Improving to 14-3 on the season, Clemens walked off the mound glaring at Red Sox GM Dan Duquette, who had previously said Clemens was “in the twilight of his career.”
Frank Thomas (A’s) at White Sox -- May 22, 2006
After 16 years with Chicago, Thomas quickly provided a reminder of what he could do. After a standing ovation, the Big Hurt went 3-for-5 with two home runs, his first multi-home run game in almost two years.
Pedro Martinez (Mets) at Red Sox -- June 28, 2006
Pedro wasn’t as successful as Clemens in his first game back against the Red Sox. He received a warm greeting from the Fenway faithful, but didn’t provide a performance to match. Martinez lasted three innings and allowed eight runs, while striking out only one.
June report card: Grades, good and bad
June, 30, 2013
JUN 30
11:52
PM ET
By David Schoenfield | ESPN.com
On the final day of June, on the final day of his first month in the major leagues, the 22-year-old Cuban named Yasiel Puig went 4-for-5 and Los Angeles Dodgers fans cried with joy and poets penned sonnets and the baseball gods shook hands and toasted their work with a cold beverage.
In truth, Puig was a little lucky on this day. Two hits were infield singles off the glove of Philadelphia Phillies third baseman Michael Young, plays that a better third baseman could have made. The triple was blooped to right field, a play that a more agile fielder thanDelmon Young could have caught. Then he drilled a line drive between first and second and made it to second base as Young must have been stationed in San Bernadino.
But study those plays: That triple. Do most players make it to third base so easily? That double. The ball never reached the wall and Puig coasted into second like a passenger in a buffet line on a cruise. He added two steals on the day, and in case he hadn't yet fully showcased all his tools this day was a testament to his speed. Hit, hit for power, field, throw, run. The five tools. "He's something special," as my friend Eric e-mailed me Sunday night.
Thank you, baseball gods. We toast as well.
Puig earns our first grade of June, and it's an A+. Can we go higher? He has electrified not only Los Angeles, but baseball fans across the country. He ripped out 44 hits in June, the second-most for a rookie in his first month in the majors behind only Joe DiMaggio's 48 in May of 1936.
It's not that Puig's total of 44 hits in a month are all that unusual in itself -- Adrian Beltre,Manny Machado and Miguel Cabrera each had 44 in May, for example -- but he also hit .436 and the only other players since 2010 to finish a month with at least 44 hits and a .425 average were Josh Hamilton in June of 2010, the aforementioned Young in July of 2010, andMelky Cabrera last May. But those three weren't rookies with essentially two months of minor league action and they didn't have the same out-of-nowhere exhilaration behind them. Puig was the story of June and what a story it was.
More grades for June efforts:
Miguel Cabrera, Tigers: A+. He hit .378/.492/.704 in June with nine home runs and 21 RBIs. Cabrera's wRC+ -- an advanced hitting metric that compares him to a league average hitter of 100 (adjusted for home park) -- is 207. That currently ranks as the eighth-highest wRC+ since World War II ended, with three guys named Bonds, Williams and Mantle ahead of him. It's an all-time great season at the plate in progress, even better than his Triple Crown numbers of last year, and there's nothing unsustainable here going on. Cabrera, for example, had 31 "well-hit" balls in June compared to 19 for Puig.
Mike Trout, Angels: A. Trout matched Cabrera's MLB-leading total of 31 well-hit balls and hit .358/.433/.541, just in case you were forgetting that he's still pretty good. Despite Trout's big month, the Angels still earn just a C- for going 14-13 in June, a record gained only by winning their final six games of the month. They're still nine games behind the division-leading Rangers (and 8.5 behind the A's) at 39-43, but if there's one hope for Angels fans it's that they still have 13 games left against both teams.
Jason Kipnis, Indians: A+. After an eight-game losing streak early in June, the Indians went on a 14-5 run thanks in large part to Kipnis, who hit .419/.517/.699 for June -- with four home runs and 25 RBIs. As with Puig, the "well-hit" average suggests some luck involved but that luck may have earned Kipnis a trip to the All-Star Game.
[+] Enlarge
Patrick Smith/Getty ImagesAfter a hot start, the Yankees have cooled off and had one of the worst records in baseball during June.
San Francisco Giants: F. The Giants went 10-17 and scored the fewest runs in the National League. They hit 14 home runs, fewest in the majors, and drew 57 walks, 27th in the majors. No power and not getting on base via walks equals a bad combo. But in the NL West they're still just 3 games out.
Chase Headley, Padres: D-. Last year's NL RBI leader continued to struggle, hitting .183/.270/.257 with one home run. The Padres have a shot in the wide-open NL West but need Headley to go on a second-half tear like he did a year ago.
Jeff Locke, Pirates: A-. At 17-9, the Pirates tied the Blue Jays for the best record in June (including winning their ninth in a row on Sunday). Locke was just 2-0 but with a 1.67 ERA in five starts. He has been the stabilizing influence in the rotation as he has held opponents to a .199 average on the season. OK, his .228 BABIP is second-lowest among starters and maybe he'll regress, but he's proving to be a better pitcher than anyone projected, relying on a sinking fastball (he throws his fastball 67 percent of the time, ninth-most among starters).
Justin Verlander, Tigers: C. A 3.92 ERA in June, following a 6.41 ERA in May. Over the past two months, batters are hitting .382 off his fastball and has 21 walks and just 15 strikeouts in plate appearances ending with the pitch. Last year, batters hit .253 off it and he had more than twice as many K's as walks.
Jose Fernandez, Marlins: A. Shelby Miller got the early hype for rookie pitchers, but Fernandez quietly posted a 1.67 in June -- tied with Locke for best in the majors. He allowed just two doubles and no home runs in the month. His team is going nowhere but he may end up as the best rookie pitcher in the majors this year.
Michael Cuddyer, Rockies: A-. He played 23 games in June and hit in all 23, extending his hitting streak to 27 games.
Pedro Alvarez, Pirates: B+. He hit .309 with 10 home runs and knocked in 24 runs and his defense is drawing improved reviews. The strikeouts are still extreme -- 35 in 26 games -- so I'm not saying he has turned a corner just yet. But when he goes on a streak he can help carry a team like he did in June. Plus, his home runs can go a long way, like this onefrom Saturday. (He leads the majors with nine "no doubt" home runs via the ESPN Home Run Tracker.)
Ian Kennedy, Diamondbacks: D. Kennedy's 6.83 ERA was second-worst among starters and he continues to fall further away from the guy who won 21 games in 2011.
Jay Bruce, Reds: B+. He got off to a slow start with one home run in April but hit seven in May and 10 in June, including this 472-foot blast, the longest of the month. He's now sixth in the majors with 43 extra-base hits.
Andrelton Simmons, Braves: B. OK, the bat is a work in progress, but the glove keeps making plays like this.
Chris Davis and Manny Machado, Orioles: A. Thirty-one home runs. (Are you kidding me?) Thirty-eight doubles. (Are you kidding me?) Good stuff. Great month. Three more to go before the playoffs.
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