Albert Pujols’ grand night was trumped by thunderous home runs by Carlos Delgado and Carlos Beltran as the New York Mets shocked the St. Louis Cardinals 8-7 on Tuesday night.
Pujols belted a three-run home run in the third inning and followed in the fifth with a grand slam to give the Cards a 7-1 lead.
Delgado had given the Mets a 1-0 lead in the first inning with a home run. He followed Pujols’ grand slam with one of his own in the bottom of the fifth.
After trimming the lead to 7-6 in the sixth inning, Beltran ripped a two-run home run off closer Jason Isringhausen in the bottom of the ninth to send more than 49,000 Mets fans home happy.
The walk-off home run heated up the MVP race between Beltran and Pujols.
“He’s having a great season. He’s a great player,” said Pujols, whose seven RBIs were a career high.
“I’m really happy for him. I’m really excited because last year he struggled a little bit and the city was treating the superstar not the right way. So I’m really excited with the season he’s having. I’ve known the guy for seven years now, and I know what kind of numbers he can put up.”
