The St. Louis Cardinals routed the New York Yankees 14-7 on Sunday behind right fielder Jordan Walker's historic five hits, the first five-hit day of his young career. After two demotions to the minors, Walker should feel immensely gratified, especially since it also came in a dominant win. This up-and-down season for the second-year fielder also included his team skidding through a 1-5 stretch, but manager Oliver Marmol never lost faith in Walker.
This faith paid off against the Yankees, as the Cardinals saw their best offensive game of the season. After the game, the team presented Jordan Walker with two game balls to commemorate his historic game, as he became the youngest Cardinal to make five hits in a game since MLB Hall of Famer Roger Hornsby in 1916.
“When I look back and see [memorabilia] things like that, I remember just how fun this game is. Playing it brings me joy, and sometimes it's hard to find [joy]. But at the end of the day, I do like playing the game, and stuff like this helps me remember that,” Walker said.
Is this the Cardinals' best win this year?
The Cardinals hope this win sparks a turnaround for Jordan Walker, a former top prospect who struggled for much of the season. In his first 20 games, Walker had only hit .155, causing the team to send him down to Triple-A Memphis.
After that, the team called him back up, although he struggled again in the middle of August, going only 1-11 over four games. The team then demoted him again to let him iron out the kinks, which he seems to have done on Sunday against the Yankees. Likewise, since his return, the team has told him they will play him every game, a boost to his confidence.
Related NewsArticle continues below
“I think five-hit days are sick and they're nice to have. I'm always confident in my hitting abilities. But I'll take this one, for sure,” he added.
After Jordan Walker's five hit game, the Cardinals may have also found the power production they needed for much of the season, which helped them get back over .500 for only the first time in almost three weeks. Their record of 69-68 gives them third place in the National League Central, behind the Milwaukee Brewers (80-57) and Chicago Cubs (71-66). While their chances of making the playoffs are slim, they still have hope.
This current run also gave them wins over teams with winning records, going 9-7 versus the Dodgers, Brewers, Twins, Padres, and Yankees. Next, they'll play three more games versus the Brewers and three against the Seattle Mariners. After waiving outfielder Tommy Pham, the Cardinals might start relying on their younger players to lead them to the postseason.
