Boston, MA – Superstar slugger Albert Pujols will have an MRI on his right calf after coming out in the middle of Wednesday's 7-3 win over the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park.
Pujols, who signed a 10-year, $250 million contract with the Angels last winter, suffered the injury running between second and third base during a ground out in the fourth inning. Pujols eventually scored but was immediately tended to by the Angels training staff. He did not take the field in the bottom of the fourth.
"I'm feeling sore right now," Pujols said. "How I did it, I don't know. I can't tell you. I was running between second and third, that's when I felt it the most. I didn't feel it running from home to second on that double. I ran fine and then all of a sudden, I can't tell you. It's just one of those things.
"I was just hoping it was just a cramp and not something else. I was in the dugout and tried to rub it out but obviously, it was sore and they didn't want to take the chance of sending me out there and making a small, little thing worse. It was tough because I don't like to come out of a game."
Pujols suffered a similar injury with the Cardinals in 2008, one that resulted in a 15-day stint on the disabled list.
"That was a pulled calf and this is nothing even close to that," Pujols said. "Hopefully, [Thursday] it feels better. I'm going to ice it down and do other stuff and see how it goes."
"We'll just see what gives," added Angels manager Mike Sicoscia. "It tightened up on him and he kind of tried to stop in between second and third and felt a tightness. We'll get more information [Thursday].
"He put a lot of ice on it after the game. Albert has his routine and when you're playing everyday, especially the way he plays first base, he's moving a lot, he's not just stationary. There's some fatigue that sets in as the season goes on with everybody, not just Albert. This might just be a function of that."
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