St. Louis Cardinals fans didn’t have much to cheer about in a 9-3 loss to the Cleveland Guardians on Monday.
However, in the seventh inning, the sparse crowd started chanting the name of the new hero in town, Jordan Walker. He had just hit his major-league-leading eighth home run, and the fans were showing their appreciation.
The 23-year-old will try to help the Cardinals beat the visiting Guardians on Tuesday night in the second contest of a three-game series.
Walker’s homer total after 16 games puts him in high Cardinals company with Scott Rolen in 2004, Mark McGwire in 1998 and Stan Musial in 1954, each of whom hit eight in their first 16 games in those seasons.
Albert Pujols is the only Cardinal with more homers in the first 16 games — 11 in 2006.
Walker, who is on a nine-game hitting streak, is batting .333 with 15 RBIs and 15 runs, and his 46 total bases lead the majors. After finishing 2025 with a .584 OPS, he has a 1.161 OPS to start 2026.
“A lot of thought is being put into his cage work and stuff on the field,” Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said. “But being on the field and being able to compete and just being free to do what he is doing out there is key to all this.
“His work has been good, but when you get out there in the box, it is you against the pitcher and just competing is important. He has done a great job with that.”
Walker hit .215 last season and drove in just 41 runs in 111 games. In 2024, he managed only 20 RBIs in 51 games after driving in 51 in his rookie season of 2023.
“You can just tell he is enjoying the game again,” Marmol said. “I like to see that. A really talented player who has gone through quite a bit. The couple of years he has had hold quite a bit of weight, so to be able to see him enjoy himself and have fun is really good to see.”
St. Louis will send Michael McGreevy (1-1, 2.16 ERA) to the mound Tuesday to try to even the series. The 25-year-old right-hander is 12-5 lifetime with a 3.72 ERA in 24 games (22 starts) and has never faced Cleveland.
The Guardians will counter with southpaw Joey Cantillo (1-0, 2.45). The 26-year-old is 8-7 lifetime with a 3.57 ERA in 46 games (24 starts) and hasn’t faced the Cardinals.
The Guardians’ offense rocked four Cardinals pitchers for 11 hits and nine runs on Monday. Cleveland starting pulling away in the fourth inning with three runs when Daniel Schneemann singled to right field to drive in a pair.
The left-handed-swinging Schneemann is hitting .256 with no home runs and had just four RBI leading into Monday.
The Guardians have faced an unusual amount of southpaws in the early season, and Schneemann said he believes that has made his quality at-bats inconsistent.
The Guardians were able to get to Cardinals lefty starter Matthew Liberatore for six hits and four runs in five innings on Monday, however.
“I was just looking to come through and, luckily, that ball got through,” Schneemann said of his two-run single that was off the glove of Cardinals first baseman Alex Burleson. “I have to give big credit to our coaching staff. They have done a great job of getting us good at-bats during this stretch.”
–Field Level Media
