Walker drives in Cards’ only run in loss to Jays

Walker entered the event as one of the field’s biggest underdogs, but looked cool, calm and collected from the outset, launching 19 home runs on just 27 swings, including 13 in the first round, to cruise into the finals. He then eliminated one of the favorites, Junior Caminero, to earn a showdown with Kyle Schwarber in an electric final round. The 24-year-old burgeoning star went deep on each of his final six swings to become the first Cardinals hitter in franchise history to win the Home Run Derby. It was an unbelievable performance.

Walker turned a five-run deficit into a two-run deficit with his 406-foot (106.5-mph EV) three-run blast off of Chad Patrick in the sixth inning. That would be as close as they would get though. It was also Walker’s only hit in four at-bats in the contest. The All-Star slugger is enjoying an unbelievable first half, slashing .294/.354/.539 with 22 homers, 73 RBI and 12 stolen bases.

He joins known competitors Willson Contreras, Jac Caglianone, Junior Caminero, and Ben Rice. Walker has had a breakout first half of the season, hitting .294/.355/.534 with a career-high 21 homers. He leads the league with 70 RBI, and has even chipped in 12 stolen bases in becoming one of fantasy baseball’s biggest success stories.

Walker opened the scoring in the contest with a 396-foot (104.4-mph EV) three-run blast off of Hurston Waldrep in the top half of the first. That would be it for the Cardinals’ offense until a seven-run rally in the seventh where Walker contributed an RBI single and scored on a fielder’s choice. He has had an extremely impressive first half of the season, slashing .291/.346/.519 with 19 homers, 63 RBI and 11 stolen bases.

Walker hit a hot-shot single that brought a run home in the first inning and then stole a base. That was his 59th RBI – third-most in the National League – and 11th stolen base of the season. He later chipped in an impressive throw from right field to nail a runner at home plate. It’s also worth noting that he struck out twice in this game, which gives him 32 punch outs since the beginning of June. That’s a scary trend given his lackluster last month of play compared to how he started the season.

It appears to be a routine day off for the 24-year-old outfielder. Walker has been one of the best hitters in the National League this season, hitting .290/.343/.516 with 18 homers and 58 RBI in 338 plate appearances. Lars Nootbaar will slide over and cover right field while Bryan Torres starts in left field and will bat sixth for the Cardinals against Tyler Phillips and the Marlins on Sunday.

Walker stepped to the plate with the bases loaded in the seventh inning and laced a double to left center to bring in all three runs and put the Cardinals up 7-4. The 24-year-old righty continues to enjoy a career year and extended his hitting streak to nine games with his one-hit outing on Friday. Walker is slashing a blistering .348/.348/.587 on the month with seven extra-base hits and 12 RBI.

Walker got the Cardinals going early with a run-scoring single in the first inning. Later, he broke this game open with a three-run homer in the fourth to stretch the Cardinals lead out to 7-0. That home run was 17th of the season, which set a new career-high. His 52 RBI after this game also set a new career-high. Both of those marks were set in Walker’s rookie 2023 when he played 117 games. He’s played just a touch more than half that in what’s been a magical breakout season so far for the young slugger.

Walker’s 401-foot homer off Nick Lodolo was his 16th in 61 games. That matches his career high from his rookie season in 2023, when he played in 117 games. Walker is 8-for-13 in his last three games, taking his average back up to .301.

Walker has now had back-to-back three-hit games and is slashing .288/.323/.441 in his last 15 games. Walker’s lone RBI came in the fifth inning when he doubled to bring home Alec Burleson. While the power hasn’t been there for Walker as of late, he continues to get on base at a good rate and has come across to score eight times in his last 15 games as well.