Central STL News

St. Louis – Jordan Walker ended a difficult stretch at the plate with a walk-off double in the ninth inning, helping the St. Louis Cardinals secure a 3-2 win over the San Francisco Giants on Saturday night at Busch Stadium.

Walker had been hitless in his previous 25 at-bats and had not recorded a hit since August 28. His double, which left his bat at 97.3 mph and deflected off third baseman Matt Chapman’s glove, drove in Masyn Winn and pinch-runner Garrett Hampson to complete the Cardinals’ comeback.

“Honestly, it was just about getting into the box and putting it in play,” Walker said after the game. “I kept it that simple and swung at the first one that looked good to me.

“It was a pretty surreal feeling, because it has been a while since I had a hit. So, to come through right there after the whole team had rallied there off a really good reliever, it was super sick, and it was some great team energy.”

The Cardinals were limited to three hits over eight innings by Giants pitchers Justin Verlander, Joey Lucchesi, and José Buttó before their offense broke through against reliever Ryan Walker in the ninth. Nolan Gorman singled after striking out three times earlier in the game; Masyn Winn followed with another single. Rookie Jimmy Crooks was then hit by a pitch, loading the bases for Thomas Saggese’s RBI single that brought home Gorman.

Walker credited Saggese for helping keep spirits up during their time on deck together. “Tommy [Saggese] and I were on deck, and we talked about it; I told him how good of a hitter he was, and he told me how good of hitters we were,” Walker said. “Him coming through and getting that big RBI there, I feel like the energy was just passed down.”

The game-winning hit came days after manager Oliver Marmol and hitting coach Brant Brown publicly called for Walker to increase his preparation efforts. In response, Walker arrived early at Busch Stadium on both Friday and Saturday for extra batting practice sessions.

“Personally, I don’t think I’m out of [the slump] yet, and I’m probably going to come in early again tomorrow and get some work on offspeed and stuff like that,” Walker said. “I can’t be satisfied, and I want to keep building off this last at-bat. I want to be one of the first ones in the cage, so I hit after the guys who are on the IL [on Saturday afternoon].”

Manager Marmol praised both Walker’s resilience during his slump—which extended beyond 25 consecutive hitless at-bats—and his ability to deliver under pressure late in Saturday’s game.

“I absolutely love tonight for [Walker] for a lot of reasons,” Marmol said following his team’s third win in four games. “He’s had a tough week. Everyone in this industry is going to go through something publicly that just doesn’t feel great. I think he’s handled it really well. An at-bat like that can instill a lot of confidence in you.”

After returning from an appendicitis-related absence earlier this season—a setback that sidelined him for three weeks—Walker produced strong numbers immediately following the All-Star break but struggled recently despite changes made to his swing mechanics.

“It’s tough, man. Honestly, it’s really tough when you just don’t feel as good,” Walker said regarding his recent struggles at bat. “In that moment, I can’t think about that. In all honesty, I just had one goal and one approach, and I had to stick to it.”

The victory capped an emotional night for both Walker and his teammates as they continue their push late into September.