Swing tweak helps Walker stay red-hot as Cards win 6th straight
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ST. LOUIS -- Jordan Walker widened his stance. Everything else suddenly started looking a whole lot bigger.
After making a minor adjustment with hitting coach Brant Brown prior to Friday’s series opener, Walker stayed scorching hot Saturday night, blasting a two-run homer and helping power the Cardinals to a 3-2 win over the Dodgers at Busch Stadium.
The homer -- a 110 mph rocket to left field off a splitter after Walker fell behind 0-2 -- gave St. Louis a commanding three-run cushion in the third inning and extended Walker’s absurd start to the series. After going 4-for-4 on Friday, Walker opened Saturday 2-for-2 against Los Angeles. He finished the day 2-for-4.
The Cardinals’ offense again leaned into what has quietly become one of the defining traits of this recent surge: relentless pressure, paired with power. Iván Herrera and Alec Burleson opened the third inning with back-to-back doubles before Walker delivered the game’s biggest swing moments later.
It was all the support Michael McGreevy needed.
The right-hander carved through the Dodgers’ lineup across six scoreless innings, allowing just three hits while working efficiently all night. McGreevy consistently generated weak contact, aided by three momentum-shifting double plays behind him. He finished with three strikeouts and three walks.
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The defense supplied one of the game’s defining moments early, when JJ Wetherholt laid out with a Superman-style dive to rob Shohei Ohtani of a hit before quickly getting Alex Freeland doubled off first base.
The Dodgers didn’t go quietly in the ninth. After the Cardinals carried a shutout into the inning, Los Angeles pieced together a two-out rally to cut the deficit to one and bring the tying run to second base. Riley O’Brien ultimately slammed the door before the comeback could fully materialize.
After opening the series with a 7-2 victory Friday night, the Cardinals have now won six straight games while taking the first two contests against the reigning World Series champions.