Story Breaks Pujols' NL Rookie Record for Home Runs in April
Colorado Rockies shortstop Trevor Story hit his ninth home run of the season during Wednesday's 9-8 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates, breaking Albert Pujols' National League record—set in 2001—for most home runs by a rookie in April, per MLB Stat of the Day.
One of the better stories from the season's first month, Colorado's 23-year-old shortstop hit a solo home run off Pirates pitcher Jon Niese in the fourth inning of Wednesday's game, providing the first run in an impressive rally from an early 7-0 deficit.
The Rockies eventually tied the game at 8-8 to force extra innings, but the Pirates ultimately emerged victorious thanks to a 12th-inning RBI double from shortstop Jordy Mercer.
Story finished the game with just the one hit in six at-bats, dropping his batting average to .241, which is the lowest it's been since his second at-bat of the season.
While the nine home runs in combination with a .651 slugging percentage obviously make up for his poor batting average and on-base percentage (.304), Story has mostly struggled at the plate since memorably hitting seven homers in the first six games of his career.
He had just two long balls and 11 hits in 56 at-bats (.196 average) over the subsequent 14 games, with a plethora of strikeouts—34 in 83 at-bats this season—inevitably taking their toll.
Of course, even with the recent slump, Story finds himself just one home run shy of matching Jose Abreu's MLB rookie record of 10 in April (2014), per ESPN Stats & Info.
