Jordan Walker hit his 17th home run and drove in four runs to push his season total to 52, another career-best number. The Cardinals also got homers from Nelson Velazquez and Alec Burleson in a 9-2 rout of the Mets for their sixth straight win.
With the Cardinals’ 26-man roster deeper and more versatile than it has been in years, Jordan Walker was allowed the luxury of staying in the lineup as a designated hitter where he could focus solely on smashing baseballs on Wednesday night.
The 6-foot-6, 250-pound Walker did just that at Citi Field in Queens by bashing a three-run homer for his career-best 17th long ball of the season and the Cardinals demolished the Mets 9-2 for their sixth straight victory.
“(The career high in homers) is cool for sure, but I don’t really want to look at the numbers now,” Walker told Cardinals.TV after another runaway win. “I’ll look at them at the end of the season.”
One night after throttling the Mets 7-0, the Cardinals led 7-0 after just four innings on Wednesday. With the lopsided victory, the Cards locked up another series victory, and it put them ahead 4-1 in the season series against the Mets. It is St. Louis’ first season series victory over New York since 2019.
After dropping the first two games of a series against the Rangers last week, the Cards won the final game against Texas, swept a three-game series against the Reds and took the first two from the reeling Mets.
Cardinals’ rookie JJ Wetherholt added three hits – as many as the Mets had in the game – in a series that hasn’t been competitive yet.
Walker also sets a new career high in RBI
Walker, one of the feel-good stories of MLB with how he has shed his struggles of the first three seasons before starring this season, wasted no time in putting his stamp on Wednesday’s game. Walker rocketed a 107.7 mph liner to center in his first at bat to plate JJ Wetherholt for the Cardinals first run. It extended his streak of games with an RBI to a career-best five.
In the fourth inning, Walker came to the plate with Wetherholt and Ivan Herrera on base ahead of him. Herrera, who reached five straight times, was on base in his first three at bats on Wednesday.
Walker got a belt-high cut fastball from David Peterson and blasted it 401 feet for a three-run blast. The 17th homer set a new career high for Walker, who hit 16 as an MLB rookie in 2023.
Walker’s four RBI also pushed his season total to 52, one more than he had in 117 games in 2023. To put his run 52 RBI in 64 games this season into perspective, he knocked in just 41 in 111 games a year ago. Walker’s 52 RBI trails only the 56 by Dodgers’ center fielder Andy Pages in all of MLB.
“Just how I’m feeling at the dish – I’m feeling a lot more comfortable,” Walker said. “It shows the work that I put in did a little something. That’s really all it is.”
Walker’s outfield replacement, Nelson Velazquez, also homered by hitting a low-and-in fastball 403 feet in the third inning to put the Redbirds up 4-0 early in the night.
Alec Burleson, another All-Star hopeful with Walker, also smacked a ninth-inning homer to extend his hitting streak to 10 games.
Jose Fermin, who got his first start of the season at third base, had two hits and an RBI. The Cardinals have worked to try and lengthen their lineup with roster moves and rotational adjustments. Nathan Church, who had three hits on Tuesday, was promoted to be the starting center fielder ahead of Victor Scott II. Jimmy Crooks replaced Pedro Pages as the team’s top catcher, while Fermin has seen more playing time of late in left field, shortstop and third base.
“What Velazquez was able to do against their lefty was exactly what was needed,” Marmol told Cardinals.TV. “And then Fermin drives in a run, so (the newly fortified lineup) is looking pretty good for us.”
Andre Pallante continued his stellar bounce back from a disastrous 2025 season by limiting the Mets three hits over six innings of work. His only mistake was leaving a slider in the middle of the plate to Francisco Alvarez, who hit it for a two-run homer in the fourth inning.
“He filled up the zone and was on the attack,” Marmol said. “He made them chase with the curveball and the slider was a good pitch for him. He pitched in to lefties and used the sinker in to righties and his overall mix was really good.”
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