No one would have blamed Albert Pujols for taking himself out of the Angels lineup Friday.
The same left hamstring that forced him to miss to two games earlier in the week was still bothering him. The Angels started the day 16 games out of first place in the American League West and their rotation remained ravaged by injuries.
Pujols wouldn’t hear any of it.
“If I can play, I play,” said Pujols, who batted cleanup as the team’s designated hitter.
So, yes, at the age of 36 and his batting average a pedestrian .