| Christopher Reina. 5th April, 2010 - 8:46 pm
 If we might of forgot that Albert Pujols wasn't already deserving of his deification, his performance on Opening Day was a vehement reminder of his dominance. Pujols hit two homers in Cincinnati, going 4-for-5 for the day.
The MLB TV announcers were discussing what kind of pitchers could possibly succeed against Pujols and someone who can combine a hard fastball and a slower off-speed pitch might have a fighting chance.
Apparently, there is one pitcher who possesses this ability with historical success against Pujols.
The only pitcher with at least 35 plate appearances against Pujols to allow an OPS under .800 is Houston's Wandy Rodriguez (.523). The southpaw Rodriguez has an excellent curve and the speed differential between his fastball and curve ball is significant.
Out of 45 pitchers who have faced Pujols at least 25 times, only Andy Pettitte (.497), Rodriguez, Brandon Webb (.569) and Roger Clemens (.708) have held him to an OPS under .800.
Out of 111 pitchers who have faced Pujols at least 15 times, those four pitchers are joined by Jason Bere (.210), Ron Villone (.321), Jason Schmidt (.436), Ji Brower (.563), Billy Wagner (.604), Chad Billingsley (.625), Brandon Claussen (.625), Jason Marquis (.648), Carlos Marmol (.649), Matt Clement (.701), Danny Graves (.713), Cory Lidle (.742) and Randy Wolf (.743), have held him to an OPS under .800.
Pujols moves on to meet Johnny Cueto on Wednesday (.708 OPS in nine PAs), Bronson Arroyo (1.033 OPS in 57 PAs), David Bush on Friday (.892 OPS in 19 PAs), Yovani Gallardo on Saturday (1.062 OPS) and Wolf on Sunday.
The Cardinals then come home to play Wandy Rodriguez's Astros on Monday, who is scheduled to start on Sunday against the Phillies and skip Pujols altogether. The Astros and Cardinals won't meet again until the second week of May, when Pujols may have 62 homers if he continues his current pace through the first 31 games of the season.
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