After hitting the game-winning home run last night–and just missing by inches on an earlier blast–Randal Grichuk will bat cleanup for the St. Louis Cardinals this afternoon in their finale at Cincinnati.
#STLCards are set to face the @Reds today at 11:35 am CT if the skies will clear pic.twitter.com/uxZxYNzeJN
— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) August 6, 2015
Get The Latest News!
Don't miss our top stories and need-to-know news everyday in your inbox.
The home run and double from Grichuk moved him into rarefied air as he became the first Cardinal rookie since Johnny Mize in 1936 to have at least 20 doubles, 7 triples, and 13 home runs in his first campaign. By comparison, Bryce Harper and Mike Trout were the last two rookies (’12) in MLB to do so.
Overall, Brian Jordan (’98) was the last Cardinals player to accomplish the feat.
“You know the ball flies here, but you kind of want to have a quality at-bat still,” said Grichuk of his 13th homer, which came in the 13th inning. “Probably any guy who has pop has that in the back of his head, you’re just trying not to let that affect your swing.”
As for the double in the 6th inning that was reviewed, Grichuk feels like most Cardinals fans who watched the replay.
“It went over the yellow pad, so I think it’s a homer,” said Grichuk. “They kind of explained it as that’s part of the fence. So it technically hit the fence even though it went over the yellow, because clearly I don’t think it’s going to hit the yellow pad and bounce that high up. They watched and watched it for a while and said it’s a double.”
photo credit: David Kohl-USA TODAY Sports
