Brian34Cook

Pujols shrugs off home runs
07/28/2008

NEW YORK — Albert Pujols provided the Cardinals' winning runs Saturday with a homer, their only run Sunday with another homer and in between insisted there was nothing to his recent stretch without a homer. His manager agreed, saying it was never the swings. It was the pitches.

His winner in the 14th inning Saturday delivered a 10-8 victory for the Cardinals and was his first home run since July 4, a span of 68 at-bats. Afterward, he really unplugged.

"I'm a line-drive hitter with power," Pujols said, sternly. "I don't care about the home runs. Every time somebody in the media says something stupid and talks about home runs, I always come up the next day and hit some."

"You guys can look at home runs," he said. "I look at how I'm producing for my ballclub — getting on base with hits, driving in runs whenever I can. ... With a good swing, the home runs will come."

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