ST. LOUIS – With just one swing of the bat Monday night, Paul Goldschmidt accomplished two feats that might be tough for the average MLB hitter.
Tenth inning, 3-3 tie, bases loaded, two outs. The stakes were pretty close to a scenario that a kid may draw up when playing baseball in the backyard, and Goldschmidt delivered. He sparked the fireworks at Busch Stadium with a walkoff grand slam, lifting the St. Louis Cardinals to a 7-3 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays.
The grand slam also extended Paul Goldschmidt’s active hitting streak to 15 games, a timely blast after being held hitless in his first four at-bats of the game. Goldschmidt’s longest hitting streak is 26 games, which he reached with the Arizona Diamondbacks between the 2013-14 seasons.
In more ways than one, Goldschmidt’s grand slam proved historic. With the Boston Red Sox clubbing a walkoff grand slam on Sunday, it marked the first time that MLB had walkoff grand slams hit on consecutive days since 2018, according to ESPN.
Coincidentally, prior to Monday, the Cardinals’ most recent walkoff grand slam also came against the Blue Jays. Goldschmidt’s former teammate Matt Carpenter delivered a walkoff grand slam in a weekday matinee on April 27, 2017.
According to Baseball Almanac, prior to the 2022 season, there were more than 200 instances of a player hitting a walkoff grand slam since 1876. Dozens have happened with their teams tied in the ninth inning or extra innings, including Goldschmidt’s and Carpenter’s blasts. Only a small handful, 30 total, are considered an ultimate grand slam, when a player picks up a game-winning, bases-loaded blast while their team is behind in the score.
The grand slam is part of one of Goldschmidt’s strongest months since joining the Cardinals in 2019. During his 15-game hitting streak, he has picked up 28 hits, 12 doubles, 5 home runs and 22 RBI. According to Stats Perform, a sports data and analytics company, he is the only player to accomplish all of those marks amid a 15-game hitting streak.
Add in the potential of Gold Glove defense, Goldschmidt could quietly be building an early case for MVP consideration. Goldschmidt and the Cardinals wrap up a two-game series with the Blue Jays on Tuesday.