Cardinals' DH Iván Herrera delivered the first walk-off homer of his professional career on Tuesday, drilling a three-run, walk-off winner in the 9-6 defeat of the Pirates in 10 innings.
ST. LOUIS – In 2025, what proved to be a massive break-out season for blossoming star Iván Herrera, the Cardinals designated hitter/catcher had 12 of his 19 homers go for game-tying or go-ahead blasts.
Even more impressively, six of his go-ahead homers came in the sixth inning or later – tied for the second most clutch long balls in MLB last season. For whatever reason, the Cardinals failed to win a majority of those games and Herrera rarely got his shine as the team’s best hitter in clutch moments.
Still, Herrera longed for the moment when he could finally come through for the Cardinals in a walk-off type of scenario – something he had never before done in the Minor Leagues or MLB while growing his resume as an elite hitter.
When that moment presented itself on Tuesday night, the 25-year-old right-handed slugger was clearly ready to deliver. Despite falling into a 0-2 count, Herrera smacked a 410-foot, three-run homer that lifted the Cardinals to a 9-6 defeat of the Pirates in 10 innings at Busch Stadium. For Herrera, the thrill of winning a game was everything he always thought it might be.
“This is something you dream about as a kid – hitting a walk-off home run,” said Herrera, who grew up in Panama and signed an international free-agent contract with the Cardinals, in part, because of his admiration for legendary catcher Yadier Molina. “I didn’t think I’d ever make it to the big leagues, but I trusted (myself). Getting it done there, I felt so much excitement, and it was cool to see.”
The blast was one of four on the night for a Cardinals team that has won 14 of its last 20 games and six in a row against the Pirates dating to 2025. Nolan Gorman hit a two-run, go-ahead shot off lefty reliever Evan Sisk, and standout rookie JJ Wetherholt smacked a two-run, opposite-field blast in the third inning – his third long ball of the season against a Pirates team he grew up rooting for while being raised in suburban Pittsburgh. Then, there was Alec Burleson’s 404-foot tomahawk when he got a pitch up in the zone.
“I’m always looking neck-high fastball,” joked Burleson, referring to the pitch that Gorman told him to look for before his at bat.
Herrera heating up for Cards
Herrera, the only Cardinals player to appear in all 47 games this season, has started to come out of a slow start caused partially by foes refusing to pitch to him and him losing his patience and chasing pitches. Over the last 30 days, he’s hitting .296 and slugging .478 with a .401 on-base percentage, four homers and 16 RBI. As evidenced by the Cardinals doing everything they can to keep his bat in the lineup daily – he usually only catches two days a week and operates as a DH the other days – Oliver Marmol said the club had the ultimate confidence that Herrera would come through in a big spot on Tuesday night.
“This is a professional hitter, and he knows what he is doing up there.” Marmol said. “If he’s going to miss, he’s going to miss the way he wants to miss, but he definitely put a good swing on that one.
“You’re just not going to speed him up and he’s very confident with his abilities. As a hitter, he’s going to get in the box thinking that nobody can beat him no matter the count.”
Herrera said he had the utmost confidence in the 10th inning that he would come through for the Cardinals and produce the first walk-off homer of his career. He even admitted that he briefly thought about doing the “Tarps Off” celebration of twirling a shirt above his head if he homered, but said the ultimate goal was to just hit a deep fly ball to score Victor Scott II from second base for the win.
“I just felt really focused and even though it was 0-2 I got in the box really fast because I was locked in and I was like, ‘There is no way you’re getting me out here,’” said Herrera, who has five homers and 23 RBI on the season and his .391 on-base percentage is tied for 15th in MLB. “That’s just the thought that I have in that situation. That’s what has helped me be good in those situations.”
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!
