ST. LOUIS — Paul Goldschmidt finally had something to smile about Tuesday night.
In what he describes as an “inconsistent” season, Goldschmidt believes he has not played as well as he should have – but that wasn’t the case against the Marlins.
Goldschmidt's single in the sixth inning pulled the Cardinals into a 1-1 tie and three innings later, leading off the ninth, he blasted a home run to right center to give the Cardinals their second walk-off win of the season.
“I told myself when I walked up there to not try to do too much. It’s funny what happens when you do it sometimes,” Goldschmidt said. “I haven’t played the best to start this year so it was nice to be able to help us win the games last night and again tonight.”
On Monday night Goldschmidt also tied the game with a single and then had another single as the Cardinals won the game with two runs in the eighth.
“Honestly for me personally I haven’t been getting the job done,” he said. “I think there’s been a lot of games where if I had gotten a couple of hits we might have more wins.
“I feel personally like I’ve cost us a few games and I can’t go back and change that. I just want to keep working and try to do my part.”
Manager Mike Shildt knows that Goldschmidt is always his own hardest critic.
“He has high expectations for himself and for this team,” Shildt said. “He cares a lot and if he doesn’t feel he’s doing to the standards he’s doing he’s going to be hard on himself. … He’s a really really good player on a lot of levels and he makes our team better on a lot of levels on and off the field. Regardless of how he’s playing he’s still contributing.”
Here is how Tuesday night’s game broke down:
At the plate: The Cardinals had only one hit and one walk through the first five innings. Pinch-hitter Jose Rondon led off the sixth with a single and moved to third on a wild pickoff attempt and scored on Goldschmidt’s single … The Cardinals put runners on first and second with no outs in the eighth but Adam Wainwright bunted into a double play and Dylan Carlson struck out to end the inning … Goldschmidt’s sixth career walkoff homer came leading off the ninth. His last walkoff homer also was against the Marlins in 2019.
On the mound: Kwang Hyun Kim came off the injured list and pitched a season-high five innings. He was able to work out of jam in the third when the Marlins had one run in and runners on first and third with no outs but Kim was able to prevent the Marlins from making it a bigger inning by getting three ground ball outs. He also stranded two runners in the first, one in the second and one in the fifth … Genesis Cabrera and Giovanny Gallegos each worked a perfect inning in relief and Alex Reyes pitched around a leadoff walk in the ninth to keep the game tied.
Key stat: The Cardinals have won all five games played against the Marlins and will try to complete the season sweep on Wednesday.
Worth noting: Tommy Edman was a late scratch after being in the original lineup. He was suffering from what was described as tightness in his right side. He is said to be day-to-day. It was the first game he has missed this season … To make room for Kim on the roster, Angel Rondon was optioned to Memphis … Harrison Bader was on the field at Busch Stadium prior to batting practice working on fielding drills. He is slowly beginning to ramp up baseball activities, including swinging a bat, and his progress will be determined by how he feels, Shildt said … Justin Williams will be re-evaluated after playing in games for Memphis on Tuesday and Wednesday on his rehab assignment.
Looking ahead: Johan Oviedo, still looking for his first career win, will get the start in the 1:15 p.m. series finale against the Marlins on Wednesday.
