'Mature' Carlson (3 XBH) in Pujols' company

ST. LOUIS -- Through each phase of Dylan Carlson’s young career, the overarching sentiment is just how far beyond his years he carries himself. In his time away from the field (which there isn’t much of given how he breathes the sport), he’s mature, poised and focused. On the field, he’s seldom out of his element; he’s the owner of one of the best batting eyes on the Cardinals and among rookies in MLB.

So even when you try to remind the world of how young he still is -- 22 years and 272 days old, to be exact -- the company he shares makes it a difficult task.

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That’s the impression he left in Thursday’s 3-2 win over the Cubs, tallying a trio of extra-base hits to become the youngest Cardinal to do so in a game since Albert Pujols in 2002. They were big in their own right -- the first leadoff homer of his career, one of two doubles to set up Nolan Arenado’s go-ahead blast in the third for a series win -- but bigger in what they embodied:

That Carlson, rounding through his first Major League season, is finding his footing at the right moment. The Cardinals, back over .500 for the first time since June 20, are attempting to make a last-ditch postseason push as the July 30 Trade Deadline looms.

“What experience can do -- which is what Dylan does really well -- he understands who he is, what he does, and because he knows who he is, he knows what he does,” said manager Mike Shildt. “... It speaks to Dylan's steadiness and his maturity, that he's been able to [perform]. That’s what players that play in this game a long time [do], they easily put up some numbers when they're younger, because they have that trait.”

Carlson’s night was plenty of support for Kwang Hyun Kim, who saw his scoreless-innings streak end at 24 -- the longest by a left-handed Cardinals starter since 1985 -- but continued his sublime July with six innings of two-run ball and seven strikeouts (on his 33rd birthday, no less). All told, he has a 0.72 ERA (two earned runs) during the month.

Kim’s latest performance was one of his more emotional ones, saying goodbye to his family in the morning, after they saw him pitch stateside for the first time in his last outing. They told their pops to sleep in, but he was glad he joined them at the airport.

The result? More of the same: Kim’s fifth consecutive win, the longest streak by a Cardinal since Mark Mulder in 2005.

But that Kim was in position to claim the victory was thanks in large part to Carlson.

Hitting leadoff for the first time in an extended showing in the Majors, Carlson is gaining confidence. In Wednesday’s win, he was at the center of a Strike 3 call that ultimately saw Shildt ejected from the game, in defense of his youngster. They know his eye for the strike zone; if Carlson was displeased, it must not have been borderline.

And on Thursday, sending the sixth pitch of the game out to right field, Carlson gave his bat a little flip as he waltzed toward first base.

“There's been some ups and downs, a lot of learning, definitely,” Carlson said. “It's been a long year. Great guys helping me out in the clubhouse each and every day, keeping me on track, and I'm really grateful for that. But definitely, definitely a lot of learning and things I'd like to improve on.”

Learning for Carlson is to be expected, if not welcomed. At every stop in his career so far, he has earned rave reviews for such a trait. And it doesn’t appear as though that will be stopping any time in the near future.

“DC, he's going to be a great ballplayer here,” said Arenado, who knows what it’s like to be a regular in the Majors by the age of 22. “I love playing with him … and he's only going to get better. We all have tough times -- and he goes through those grinds because he's young -- but with experience, he's just going to get better and better. I mean, he already looks good now, he works at-bats.

“He's definitely mature for his age, that's for sure.”