Behind late homers from Jordan Walker and Nathan Church and 10th-inning, RBI doubles by Thomas Saggese and JJ Wetherholt the Cardinals rallied for their fifth comeback win among their six victories on the season.
In a matchup of MLB’s two youngest teams, the Cardinals showed on Tuesday night that they just might be further along in the rebuilding process than the Nationals.
Jordan Walker and Nathan Church hit late homers and Thomas Saggese and standout rookie JJ Wetherholt delivered clutch, run-scoring doubles in the 10th inning as the Cardinals rallied past the Nationals 7-6 in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday night.
“I think a lot of it is our mentality and we’re never out of a game,” Church said to Cardinals.TV after smashing a two-run homer in the eighth inning to knot the game at 5. “To be able to come back in the 10th the way we did, that made it a good game.
Of the Cardinals six wins early in the 2026 season, five have been of the comeback variety. Also, they are 3-0 this season in extra innings. Here are three takeaways from another come-from-behind win by the Cardiac Cards:
Take me to Church
Church, 25, had the kind of start to the 2026 season that every young player dreams about by going 3 for 4 with two RBI and a home run robbery defensively. However, the feel-good vibes didn’t last long for him as he went 0 for 22 over his next eight games.
Church, who made his MLB debut late in the 2025 season, finally broke out of his prolonged slump at a clutch moment on Tuesday. With the Cards trailing 5-3 in the eighth inning, Church hit an 87 mph slider from Gus Varland over the right field wall to knot the score.
“Just something over the plate and put a good swing on it,” Church said of 378-foot homer that left the bat at 102.1 mph. “That’s really all I was trying to do – simplify.”
Redemption for Saggese and Wetherholt in the 10th
Saggese, who starred defensively in left field on Monday night with an outfield assist to save a run, missed out on two big chances to drive in runs early in the game. Similarly, Wetherholt – who had a key bases loaded sacrifice fly in the Cardinals’ Opening Day win – whiffed with the sacks packed in to end a sixth-inning rally.
However, both would come through when it mattered most in the 10th inning.
Saggese drilled a double into the left-center gap to score extra-innings runner Masyn Winn to give the Cards a 7-5 lead in the 10th. Then, after Yohel Pozo moved Saggese over to third with a grounder to the right side, Wetherholt tomahawked the first pitch he saw from Cole Henry into right field for another run-scoring double. Wetherholt’s double was the first of his young career and the RBI was his fifth thus far. Also, the run he pushed across proved to be the game-winner after the Nats scored a solo run in the bottom of the 10th on a Riley O’Brien wild pitch.
“That was a good one,” manager Oliver Marmol said to Cardinals. TV, referring to the win. “There was a lot going on in that game. We had guys down (injured) and we knew we were going to have to finish it and give some opportunities to other guys to come in and do their jobs. But it was a lot going on. … There were just lots of positives from that game.”
Walker and Gorman continue to shine
The Cardinals have been waiting for Nolan Gorman and Walker to become key pieces of their offense since 2023, and the power-hitting duo continued to show on Tuesday when the Cardinals have stuck by their sides throughout struggles over the past three seasons.
Gorman, who had a potential homer of his robbed Monday by 6-foot-6 Washington outfielder James Wood, delivered three singles, a walk and an RBI on Tuesday night. However, his biggest contribution might have been the stellar barehanded play he made in the 10th inning with some help from first baseman Alec Burleson, who scooped a low throw.
As for the scorching-hot Walker, he homered for the third time in four games by going with a pitch on the outside corner and using his enormous power to drive the ball over the wall.
Walker, 23, is slashing .300/.364/.650/1.014 with four homers, two doubles and 11 RBI over 11 games. To put Walker’s four-homer spree into context, here’s a look at when his fourth long ball came over the previous three seasons.
· 2025: Aug. 8, his 73rd MLB game
· 2024: Sept. 17, his 40th MLB game
· 2023: June 9, his 25th MLB game
Join the conversation
Remember to join our CARDINALS on ROUNDTABLE community, which is FREE! You can post your own thoughts, in text or video form, and you can engage with our Roundtable staff, as well as other CARDINALS fans. If prompted to download the Roundtable APP, that's free too!