After getting loud cheers and flying out to left in the first, the 41-year-old Pujols drove Madison Bumgarner’s 0-2 pitch up the middle to score Mookie Betts in the third.
“It felt great, especially your first night wearing this uniform,” Pujols said. “In a key situation like that, with a guy in Bumgarner that has a pretty good slider and is pitching pretty well, I was able to get a good barrel and put it through the infield. So yeah, it felt awesome.”
Pujols got his 3,254th hit and his 2,113th RBI — the second-most in major league history since it became an official stat. The fifth-leading home run hitter in baseball history was batting .198 in his 10th season with the Angels when they cut him.
Pujols also gave a midgame pep talk to Buehler (2-0), who dominated the Diamondbacks except for one wild stretch in the fourth to earn his first victory in six starts since April 9.
Allowing only an infield single by Josh Rojas in the first inning, Buehler struck out seven despite walking four — more walks than he had issued in his first seven starts combined.
“Him being in Anaheim for so long, I don’t know if any of us could have imagined he’d be wearing our uniform,” Buehler said. “But a big hit for us tonight, and obviously we’re excited to have him in there.”
Will Smith homered and doubled for the Dodgers, who have won five of six on their nine-game homestand. Gavin Lux added an RBI single in the eighth.
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