ST. LOUIS -- After Jordan Walker’s fifth home run during a seven-game hitting streak on Saturday night, Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol made it clear that he would happily continue to field questions on the 23-year-old right fielder’s incredible power surge.
“My hope is I can answer this question every day,” Marmol said. “I have no problem with that.”
It’s a good thing Marmol feels that way, because the questions are likely coming his way again after Sunday’s game.
In his first plate appearance in the Cardinals' 9-3 loss to the Red Sox at Busch Stadium, Walker sent another bolt into the St. Louis sky -- demolishing a Brayan Bello cutter a Statcast-projected 432 feet over the wall in left-center field.
It was Walker’s seventh home run of the season, pulling him into sole possession of the Major League home run lead. It also extended his hitting streak to eight games.
Walker is the fourth Cardinals player in franchise history to hit at least seven homers in the team's first 15 games, joining Mark McGwire (1998), Scott Rolen (2004) and Albert Pujols (2006).
After Walker’s torrid start initially saw him primarily punishing opposing left-handed pitching, his home run in Sunday’s second inning marked his fourth of 2026 against right-handed pitchers as he continues to attack hittable pitches in the zone with authority.
The Red Sox starter opened up against Walker with a sinker over the plate to get ahead, 0-1. Boston catcher Connor Wong appeared to want the next pitch to find the outside corner, but Bello’s cutter backed up into the middle of the zone -- a mistake you simply can’t make to Walker right now with the way he’s seeing the baseball.