JJ Wetherholt’s go-ahead swing in the eighth inning of the Cardinals’ 7-4 victory over the Rockies on Sunday at Busch Stadium immediately led the standout rookie into his next routine.
After putting his bat away, Wetherholt picked up a pen and quickly began journaling about the day’s game.
Sunday’s entry was meant to give his future self a reminder of how to approach late-game at-bats when there is an opportunity to drive home the go-ahead run — and how maintaining a calm mindset in those situations can ultimately make a difference.
“Just trying to write down the mentality going into that,” Wetherholt explained. “In those situations, especially as a leadoff guy, I feel like it can be rarer than most. So, you get those situations, you can really get amped up and just try to be the hero.
“So, in that situation, I just tried to stay calm. We always talk about letting the pitcher make the mistake and just putting a good swing on it. So, just write that down. Then, when you’re in that situation again, you try to get back to that mindset.”
That composed approach from Wetherholt ultimately produced exactly the clutch moment St. Louis needed.
The Cardinals had controlled much of Sunday’s game, but everything changed in the top of the eighth when Rockies catcher Hunter Goodman crushed a George Soriano pitch 394 feet into Big Mac Land, tying the game and putting pressure back on St. Louis to respond.
José Fermín’s sacrifice bunt moved the potential go-ahead runners into scoring position, and Wetherholt came through with the decisive swing. His two-run double sailed over the head of center fielder Cole Carrigg and immediately restored the Cardinals’ advantage.
Wetherholt had already reached base three times through a pair of walks and a seventh-inning single before stepping into that critical at-bat. Despite the pressure, the rookie remained composed in a run-producing situation that, as he admitted, is not necessarily something a leadoff hitter encounters regularly.
“I always joke around, hey, throw me in the two-hole one of these days,” Wetherholt said with a grin. “But leadoff’s cool. It’s interesting. I think the true leadoff hitter is kind of a dying breed. So you see a lot of more guys that are really good at swinging right away. Think of, like, James Wood and [Shohei] Ohtani. Those guys are leading off — they start the game off 1-0.
“I’m a little bit different than that but just important for me to have good at-bats. Take pride in having selfless at-bats, just try to get on base for the guys behind me.”
The big performance came after Wetherholt had endured a difficult start to August, entering Sunday’s game just 3-for-21 at the plate.
Still, his overall value at the top of the Cardinals’ lineup remained clear. Even when the hits were not coming, the rookie second baseman continued finding ways to reach base, drawing seven walks during that same stretch.
The walks have remained one of the most consistent parts of Wetherholt’s offensive game regardless of whether his swing is producing hits. His 57 walks this season lead all National League rookies.
“I think I’ve had a couple stretches like that where it’s like, walk a good bit, have really competitive at-bats and then just not able to find a ton of hits,” Wetherholt said. “That’s just going to be the nature of it — that will probably be a thing for my entire career.
“Just looking back at it and being like, man, I’m in every at-bat. I’m able to draw walks even when things aren’t going well. That’s good to have and just continues to try to build me as a player to just be that complete hitter.”
Wetherholt’s performance was also part of a strong overall offensive effort from St. Louis against Colorado pitching.
Rockies starter Michael Lorenzen struggled to navigate the Cardinals’ lineup throughout the afternoon, needing 70 pitches just to get through the first three innings.
During that opening stretch, Cardinals hitters battled relentlessly, fouling off 17 pitches while collecting six hits and drawing two walks. At the same time, St. Louis showed it could adjust its approach depending on the situation.
Wetherholt’s go-ahead double, Jordan Walker’s RBI single in the first inning and Alec Burleson’s fifth-inning home run all came on the first pitch.
“Being on go is important. You don’t try to just grind at-bats for the sake of grinding,” Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said. “You don’t want chase, you want to get him in the zone and you want to be super selective. But when it’s where you’re hunting, let it eat. Those guys did a good job of that.”