JJ Wetherholt, who delivered a two-out, two-run double in Sunday's eighth inning in the Cardinals' 7-4 win over the Rockies, has taken to journaling right after games as a way to learn from previous situations from his rookie MLB season.
Being that he is an MLB rookie and just about every foe, opposing pitcher and situation is still new to him, Cardinals’ standout second baseman JJ Wetherholt has taken to journaling immediately after games so that he can draw from prior experiences in times of need.
On Sunday, Wetherholt’s coolness under pressure and ability to deliver in a big way came about largely because of something that he reminded himself of from earlier in the 2026 season that had been scribbled down in his trusty journal.
“I try to write down the mentality of going into that, those kinds of situations,” Wetherholt said on Sunday after drilling a two-out, two-run double off the wall in center field that propelled the Cardinals to a 7-4 series-clinching victory over the Rockies.
“Especially as the leadoff guy, (being in game-winning spots) can be rarer than most,” Wetherholt continued. “In those types of situations, you can be really amped up and try to be the hero. So, in that situation, I just tried to stay calm. We always talk about, ‘Just let the pitcher make the mistake,’ and then put a good swing on it. So, it’s been about writing that down and when you get in that situation again, try to get back to that mindset.”
Whatever Wetherhold did on Sunday it worked because he was completely ready for the first-pitch fastball that Parker Mushinski threw him with runners on second and third in a 4-4 game in the eighth inning. Minutes earlier, Rockies manager Warren Schaefer made the call to bring in the lefty against the lefty-hitting Wetherholt, who had been hitting 14 points lower against southpaws as opposed to righties this season.
However, Wetherholt turned all that logical thinking and statistical data upside down when he laced a 103.7 mph missile that flew over the head of Colorado center fielder Cole Carrigg and hit off the wall 401 feet away.
Cardinals’ manager Oliver Marmol talked about Wetherholt’s unique ability to remember being in similar circumstances and finding ways to deliver when St. Louis needs it the most.
"It’s awesome when he’s able to come through the way that he did, and he can keep it in his memory bank and be able to draw from it later down the line and draw from it in important moments,” said Marmol, whose club moved to 59-59 following its fifth win in the past seven games. “Big swing and he had a big day. Look at the plays he made at second base because those are some difficult plays. … Just a really productive day for him.
It was an extremely productive day for the top four hitters in the Cardinals’ order with Wetherholt, Ivan Herrera, Alec Burleson and Jordan Walker combining to go nine for 16 with five RBI and five runs scored. That’s the kind of production the Cardinals are going to need as they face off against the Phillies in the next three games and again in Philadelphia in two weeks. Herrera, who collected the 300th hit of his career in the third inning, had four hits and drove in Wetherholt for insurance in the eighth inning.
Burleson, who hit three homers at Yankee Stadium earlier in the week, drilled a majestic 441-foot homer in the fifth inning. A night after ending his homerless drought at 22 games, Walker had two more hits – the first one plating the Cards’ first run of the day and the second one leaving his bat at 114.6 mph in the fifth inning following Burleson’s blast.
“The top of the order being able to produce is huge,” said Wetherholt, who pushed his RBI total to 45 with his game-winning double. “When we’re playing our best baseball, those guys are kind of playing unconscious. You’re not always going to do that because it’s the nature of the game, but we’ve seen a real uptick in production from some of the guys from further down in the order and Masyn (Winn) is swinging the bat really well, (Nathan) Church is starting to come alive, (Bryan) Torres has added a spark and Blaze (Jordan) is really hitting the ball.
"So, for us to be the best team that we want to be, all four of us need to do well, me included. Here recently, we haven’t done a good job of that, but guys are really starting to turn it on and that can big for us.”
Cards face Phillies six times in next two weeks
The Phillies are one of the teams that St. Louis is chasing for one of the National League’s Wild Card slots. Philadelphia, which avoided a three-game sweep at the hands of the Blue Jays by winning in 12 innings on Sunday, plays in St. Louis over the next three nights.
Andrew Painter, All-Star starter Cristopher Sanchez and Zack Wheeler will face off against Cardinals’ hurlers Hunter Dobbins, Andre Pallante and Kyle Leahy in the three-game series. The two teams then face off again in Philadelphia from Aug. 21-23.
Philadelphia’s pitchers are about to get their first look at Wetherholt, who is hitting .249 with a .740 OPS largely because of his 16 home runs and 57 walks. Wetherholt admitted that he’s tried to use walks as a weapon as he has struggled with his swing in the three weeks since returning from the break for the MLB All-Star Game.
After all, Wetherholt said he knows that his job as the team’s full-time leadoff hitter is to find his way on base however he can.
“I always joke around, ‘Hey, throw me in the two-hole one of these days!’” joked the 23-year-old rookie, who recently signed an eight-year contract extension that could be worth as much as $132 million over the life of the deal. “Leadoff is interesting and a true leadoff hitter is kind of a dying breed and you see more guys who are really good swinging right away. James Wood and Ohtani, those guys are leading off and starting games off 1-0. I’m a little different than that, but it’s important for me to have good at bats and selfless at bats and try to get on base for the guys behind me.”
