Albert Pujols gave Gerrit Cole a ‘stern lecture’
Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Gerrit Cole caught an earful from Albert Pujols during Sunday’s game, but the Los Angeles Angels slugger would not say what it was about after his team’s 5-4 win.
As Alden Gonzalez of MLB.com notes, Angels right fielder Kole Calhoun worked a full count in the sixth inning before lining out to first. For whatever reason, Cole stared Calhoun down after the at-bat and had some choice words for him. After Cole singled and reached first in the bottom of the same inning, Pujols clearly expressed his displeasure.
“I don’t want to talk about that,” Pujols told reporters. “I said what I had to say to him, and that’s it. Whatever I had to say, I said it to him. And that stays between me and him.”
Cole was also unwilling to discuss the conversation.
“That conversation will stay on the field,” the pitcher said.
You can see a video of the exchange here.
With the Angels trailing by a run in the eighth, Pujols jacked a two-run homer that proved to be the game-winner.
This isn’t the first time Pujols had a dustup with an opponent, but it appears he was sticking up for a teammate in this situation. It’s unclear what Cole was angry with Calhoun over. Whatever it was, Pujols seemed to think it was unwarranted.
