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WASHINGTON -- Heading toward the plate after the 500th homer of this career, Albert Pujols glanced ahead and saw a throng of Los Angeles Angels teammates waiting right there to greet him. He was pleased by the outpouring of support. He also had a message. "I was pretty emotional running the bases and when I ... looked at all these guys coming out, it was hard," Pujols said. "But I just told them, Weve got a game to win." Not a problem, especially with Pujols hitting like the Pujols of old. Continuing a strong stretch, the Angels first baseman became the first major leaguer to hit his 499th and 500th homers in the same game, driving in five runs Tuesday night to help Los Angeles beat the Washington Nationals 7-2. "I knew this year, it was going to happen, whether it was tonight, tomorrow, two months from now," Pujols said. "So my goal was just to prepare myself every day to try to help this organization win." The three-time NL MVP connected twice off right-hander Taylor Jordan (0-3) -- a three-run homer in the first inning and two-run drive in the fifth. Hes the 26th player in big league history to reach the milestone. Pujols also hit his 400th homer at Nationals Park. "I admire the man. I admire his ability and the way he goes about playing the game, and I have for some time," said Washington manager Matt Williams, who also played against Pujols. "I just wish hed do it against somebody else." Pujols is the first player to collect his 499th and 500th homers in the same game, according to STATS. About three months past his 34th birthday, hes also the third-youngest to get to 500; Alex Rodriguez and Jimmie Foxx were 32. Making a recent surge, Pujols has eight homers in the past 13 games. He leads the Angels with 19 RBIs. "Thats the Albert Im used to seeing," Angels outfielder Mike Trout said. "Full, healthy, 100 per cent healthy." The 500th homer went to left-centre field at Nationals Park, on an 89 mph pitch with the count at 1-2. The ball was grabbed -- and later given to Pujols -- by a man who identified himself as Thomas Sherrill, a 29-year-old Air Force staff sergeant from Pomona, Calif. "That pitch was supposed to be low and away," Jordan said, "and I guess I tried too hard to get it there." Pujols clapped his hands together a few strides before trotting home, then pointed both index fingers to the sky. Fans gave Pujols a partial standing ovation, and he acknowledged it by tipping his red batting helmet as he approached the dugout. After heading down the steps, he came back out for a curtain call. "Thats something you tell your kids when you get older. I dont know the next guy whos going to hit 500," said Angels pitcher Tyler Skaggs (2-0), who gave up two runs in seven innings. "Nobody knows how to react. You dont see it too much." Teammates said that Pujols told shortstop Erick Aybar before the game he was going to hit two homers. "Alberts Albert. If he tells you something, hes going to do it," Trout said. "Im not surprised he said that, because Ive seen it before. Hes told me, Im going deep tonight." Jordan allowed six runs and eight hits in five innings. Washington entered the game with a majors-worst 22 errors and third baseman Anthony Rendon added two more. After a couple of down-for-him years with the Angels following 11 transcendent seasons with the St. Louis Cardinals, Pujols appears ready to reclaim his spot among the games elite hitters. He homered Friday and Saturday at Detroit to lift his total to 498, and now hes reached the round number of 500 -- a total that remains hallowed despite losing lustre lately because so many players surpassed it. Of the 26 members of the 500-homer club, 11 reached the mark in the last 15 years, according to STATS. Gary Sheffield was the previous player to do it, hitting No. 500 in April 2009. "You dont see 500, obviously, every night," Pujols said. "Its been a great career." The Cardinals selected him in the 13th round of the 1999 draft, with the 402nd overall selection -- a steal if ever there was one. Pujols won a batting title in 2003, National League MVP awards in 2005, 2008 and 2009, and World Series titles with the Cardinals in 2006 and 2011. Pujols was the first player to hit 30 homers in each of his first 12 seasons and the second -- after Al Simmons in 1924-34 -- to reach 100 RBIs in each of his first 10. A nine-time All-Star, Pujols hit 455 homers with the Cardinals. After his decade-plus of excellence in St. Louis, Pujols signed a 10-year deal worth $240 million with the Angels following the 2011 season. Almost immediately, the 6-foot-3 slugger appeared to be slowing down. He hit .285 with 30 homers in 2012 -- impressive numbers for most players, but career lows at that point for Pujols. Things got even worse in 2013. Injuries limited Pujols to 99 games, and he was sidelined from July 26 on. He ended up hitting .258 with 17 homers and 64 RBIs. But not surprisingly, Pujols bat did not stay quiet for long. Sitting at a news conference with the balls he hit over the fence Tuesday resting near his left elbow, Pujols smiled as he said: "Now weve got to start on the next milestone, I guess." NOTES: Washington RHP Doug Fister threw 44 pitches in three innings at extended spring training in Florida on Tuesday. ... Angels manager Mike Scioscia on Pujols defence this season: "Hes played first base at the Gold Glove-caliber that you would expect. Well have to monitor it; if he needs a day to refresh, well give it to him." Air Max 1 Sale Cheap . The Heat centre scored 10 of his 30 points early in the first quarter to silence the Toronto fans as Miami defeated the Raptors 113-101 on Friday night. Cheap Nike Air Max 1 . The team sent out a press release on Friday stating Poile was resting and recovering and that he will remain in hospital for further observation. The Predators were preparing for the game against the Wild when Poile was hit by a puck that flew off the ice at him where he was standing in a tunnel behind the bench. http://www.wholesaleairmax1.com/.Y. - Geno Smith still thinks of himself as the New York Jets starting quarterback. Wholesale Air Max 1 Cheap . Now he has a complete game. Scherzer tossed a three-hitter in his 179th career start for his first complete game and Victor Martinez hit his 16th homer to lead the Detroit Tigers a 4-0 win over the Chicago White Sox. Nike Air Max 1 Discount . "Right now were kind of looking at him at the end of the rotation right now," said pitching coach Pete Walker. "Not indicative of how hes doing or how hes feeling. Its just, it seems like the spot we want him right now.SESTOLA, Italy -- Pieter Weening of the Netherlands edged out Davide Malacarne to win the ninth stage of the Giro dItalia on Sunday, while Cadel Evans retained the overall lead. Weening had been part of a breakaway group and apologized to Malacarne as he sprinted past him at the end of the final climb of the 172-kilometre (107-mile) leg from Lugo to Sestola for his second individual victory. A final burst from Domenico Pozzovivo saw the Italian cyclist finish third, 42 seconds behind, with the peloton coming in 1 minute, 8 seconds after Weening. "The guys werent working perfect in the group and it went slightly uphill," Weening said. "At the roundabout I saw everybody going the wrong way around and I came full speed on the right side and I felt that this was the moment. Normally you wait for the climb but this climb is not so steep to attack, so I thought I would attack before the climb." The top three in the overall standings remained unchanged and Evans has a 57-second advantage over Rigoberto Uran. Rafal Majka is third, while Pozzovivo moved up into fourth, 1:20 behind Evans. "I think we have to be satisfied with our work so far," Evans said. "The team, they put me in the position Im in now. Im very proud of my guys and we will rest well tomorrow." Victorias Ryder Hesjedal finished the stage in 14th and is 17th overall. Svein Tuft of Langley, B.C., was well back iin 161st and is now last overall in the field at 181st.dddddddddddd Despite a relatively flat opening half of the stage, the break took a while to form with the peloton holding the pace high. A group of 14 riders eventually escaped 50K (31 miles) in and swiftly built an advantage of more than seven minutes as the peloton seemed happy to let them go, with no threat to the overall lead among the escapees. However, with 35K (22 miles) remaining, BMC put its foot down and the peloton started slashing the gap which dropped to 3:19 at the top of the second and penultimate climb. Weening saw the danger and made his move, followed by Malacarne. The pair built up an advantage of more than 35 seconds with 12K (7.5 miles) remaining and that was up to a minute as they approached the steepest part of the final climb, with gradients of 14 per cent. The duo worked together before becoming more cagey in the final kilometre, each waiting for the other to start the sprint. Malacarne made his move with 250 metres to go, but Weening rounded him to take his second victory in this years race, after helping Orica-GreenEdge win the opening time trial. Pozzovivo jumped from the peloton with less than 5K (3 miles) remaining, catching and passing Enrico Barbin to finish third. Monday is a rest day before Tuesdays 10th stage, which is one for the sprinters -- a flat 173K (107.5-mile) leg from Modela to Salsomaggiore. ' ' '