Albert Pujols quest for baseball immortality has entered its stretch run, as he sits just five home runs shy of joining the ultra-exclusive 700-home run club with 26 regular-season games left in his Cooperstown-bound career.Its all very thrilling.To be sure, this isnt a regular milestone. This isnt going 3-for-4 on the seasons final day to finish with a .300 batting average, or throwing seven shutout innings to drop a season ERA below the magical 2.00 mark. This would be historic.MORE: The only three players to reach 700 are, in order, Babe Ruth, Henry Aaron and Barry Bonds. Pujols, should he get there, would be the first player born outside of the United States to join that exclusive club. That matters for the 42-year-old Pujols, of Gabriel Gagne Women Jersey course, but it might even be more important for baseball fans in the Dominican Republic, for any Latin player who has looked up to him and learned from him during his Hall of Fame career.Thats pre sure, for Pujols but also for the guy who makes up the lineup card every night. Oliver Marmol, in his first year as the Cardinals manager and who is, by the way, 6 1/2 years younger than Pujols has to weigh Pujols chase vs. the clubs goal of winning the NL Central and securing its spot in the playoffs.Its always in the back of your mind. I get it, Marmol said before Fridays game against the Cubs. You want to give him a chance to get to 700. Im no different from anybody in those seats tonight. Trust me, I want to see it happen, too.Pujols didnt homer on Friday, but did get two PAs off Dylan DeMelo Kids Jersey the bench. He started on Saturday (1-for-3 with a walk) and came off the bench on Sunday to pop a two-run home run.That was his 16th of the season, and his ninth since Aug. 10. In this most recent stretch, hes batting .369 with a .425 on-base percentage and .831 slugging percentage. Hes looked very much like Vintage Pujols, the player who authored 11 incredible seasons in St. Louis before leaving as a free agent after the 2011 season. It feels like a storybook ending is coming. But thats easier said than done.Here, folks, is the plan: Matching him up against righties and, of course, every lefty, is what well do moving forward, Marmol said.What does that look like?For the next nine games, the Cardinals are only expected to face one left-handed starter, Milwaukees Eric Lauer on Sept. 13. The Pirates starter on Sept. 9 is unknown, but they dont currently have a left-handed starter on the roster, so lets a sume thats not going to happen.Thats not ideal. One start every nine games isnt going to get Pujols to 700.MORE: When Marmol talks about matching up Pujols against some right-handers, that e sentially that means he wont face the hardest-throwing righties with nasty stuff, but he will see the softer (relatively speaking) to sers. Maybe think about it this way: If the right-hander is a regular feature on the Pitching Ninjas Twitter feed, Pujols probably will not be in the starting lineup. NHL Ottawa Senators Men Jersey If the pitcher isnt, theres a chance.Does that change down the stretch? Probably, but well come back to that in a minute.For now, lets look at how hes been used the past couple of weeks. Starting with Aug. 18, the Cardinals have played 20 games. Pujols started 11 of those and pinch-hit in eight of them. Dont expect that to change. If youve bought a ticket to one of the Cardinals remaining games, you are almost certainly going to get to see Pujols take at least one plate appearance.The thing is, pinch-hitting Pujols against left-handers in key situations isnt just about giving him a chance to reach 700, its giving the Cardinals their best chance to win baseball games. That pinch-hit home run he hit against the Cubs on Sunday? That came in the eighth inning of a 0-0 ballgame, and the Cardinals won, 2-0.At the end of the day, knowing what you need to do, and hunt the pitch that youre looking for, and just try not to do too much, Pujols said after the game, as reported by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. There are nights that youre going to come through, and other nights that you dont. Well, the nights that you do you just enjoy, and thats what Im going to enjoy tonight.The pinch-hit grand slam he hit in the third inning on Aug. 18? That was the dagger in a game against the Rockies that the Cardinals wound up winning, 13-0. And it showed that Marmol is going to be aggre sive with Pujols, using him in important situations but also giving him at-bats against pitchers hes best suited to attack. For the home run against the Cubs, Pujols was pinch-hitting for the leadoff batter, Lars Nootbaar. Against the Rockies, he was pinch-hitting Marian Gaborik Kids Jersey for the No. 2 batter, Brendan Donovan.In 114 plate appearances against lefties this year, hes batting .366 with 12 homers and a 1.191 OPS. Only one player in the majors has more homers vs. lefties than Pujols: Aaron Judge, with 13. Only two have a better OPS: NL MVP candidates Paul Goldschmidt (1.379) and Austin Riley (1.197).I think its been navigated to where hes being put in a position to have succe s, Marmol said, but hes taking good at-bats regardle s, he really is.And so thats why you might see Pujols start at DH against right-handers who he might have sat against in May. Hes taking good ABs against righties, and the clock is ticking.So theres another factor at play, too. Winning the division is very important. If the Cardinals claim the NL Central title, theyll host all three games of the best-of-three opening round in this years revamped playoff scenario. If the Brewers catch them, its po sible that steep of a fall means the Cardinals would mi s the postseason. If the Brewers catch the Cardinals and St. Louis somehow still claims a wild-card spot, theyd play every game of that best-of-three on the road. Not ideal.When the trade deadline pa sed, the Brewers held a three-game lead in the Central, and it looked like a battle down the stretch was looming. But Milwaukee has kind of fallen apart Tuesday nights debacle against the Rockies, allowing nine runs after the seventh inning in a 10-7 lo s was emblematic Dion Phaneuf Kids Jersey and the Cardinals have thrived since the deadline. And, suddenly, the Cardinals are 8.5 up on the Brewers. With 26 games, thats a very comfortable position.As games melt away, its certainly conceivable that Marmol writes Pujols name into the lineup as the starting DH most nights. When you combine the chase for 700 with the solid ABs against right handers with the wrapped up playoff positioning theres very little chance the Cardinals could jump up to the No. 2 seed, which comes with an opening-round bye Marmol might become public enemy No. 1 for not giving Pujols as many ABs as po sible.MORE: And, again, Marmol wants to see 700,