TuesdoLinks: Pujols Flexes Broad Shoulders

Photo by Masterpress/Getty ImagesSure you noticed that Mike Trout was held out of the lineup last night. Because precautions.

Going up against the Houston Astros, this motivated Albert Pujols to put almost the entire team on his shoulders and power the Angels to a 9-6 victory. Pujols was 3 for 4, driving in 3 runs and scoring 2 runs with thunderous base-running hustle.

I say ‘almost’ because there were other strong shoulders in Trout’s absence. Kevan Smith drive in 3 runs. Justin Upton was 2 for 4 and scored 3 times. Andrelton Simmons homered.

On the pitching side, Houston was forced to roll out an Opener (see the Brad Peacock link, below), which is stunning when you consider the unholy amount…