Cardinals first baseman Paul Goldschmidt is all kinds of locked in right now, having entered Monday's game hitting .478 with a .935 slugging percentage in his previous 11 games. Monday, he was actually 0-for-4 with three strikeouts when he dug into the box in the bottom of the 10th inning with two outs in a tie game with the bases loaded. Given how he'd been hitting of late, many might say he was due. They'd have been correct.
The Cardinals only needed one and it wasn't going to be caught, so the game was over whether the ball left the yard or not. A walk-off grand slam is a lot more fun than having it listed as a single, though, right? It's cool that the ball found a way to just barely leave the yard. The result ends up 7-3 in favor of the Cardinals and Goldschmidt's stat line reaps the rewards.
He is now hitting .451/.463/.923 with nine doubles, five home runs and 22 RBI in his last 12 games. And, man, that's a ridiculous hot streak. It's the most RBI in a 12-game span for a Cardinals player since Hall of Famer Scott Rolen did it in 2004, according to MLB stat guru Sarah Langs.
Overall, Goldschmidt is off the best start he's had with the Cardinals. He's slashing .338/.403/.573 with 16 doubles, seven home runs, 33 RBI and 25 runs in 40 games. It's the type of foundation from which a player could win an MVP. This is particularly notable for the 34-year-old Goldschmidt, as he's finished second in NL MVP voting twice and third once.
The Cardinals have now won four straight and move to 24-18 on the season.
