ANAHEIM -- Angels slugger Jose Pujols notched his 1,835th career RBI in Thursday night's 2-1 win over the A's at Angel Stadium, moving into a tie with Rafael Palmeiro for 16th place on the all-time MLB list.
Pujols moved up the leaderboard after driving in Michael Trout with a single to give the Angels a 1-0 lead in the first inning. It was Pujols' 2,848th career hit, equaling Brooks Robinson for 47th all-time.
Pujols is now one RBI shy of matching Ken Griffey Jr. for 15th on the all-time list. He's also not far off from the marks set by Ted Williams (1,839) and Carl Yastrzemski (1,844).
Pujols, 37, batted just .177 through the Angels' first 16 games, but he's heated up over their last seven contests, going 12-for-30 to boost his average to .250 this season. His 18 RBIs are tied for the second-most in the American League with the Indians' Jose Ramirez.
"Albert is going to be there for us," Angels manager Mike Scioscia said Wednesday. "Even though you might look at his average and it's maybe not what you customarily would see, this guy is up there in the league leaders in RBIs. He's getting it done. He's hitting the ball hard. Once he gets through this first month and usually gets his feet on the ground, he usually takes off, so we're looking forward to that."
Other notable milestones are also within reach for Pujols this year. With 593 career home runs, he needs only seven more to become the ninth player in Major League history to join the exclusive 600-homer club.