Cardinals' youth movement leads the way in series-opening win

DENVER – Years ago, when they were starring together at Single-A Peoria and Double-A Springfield – and even a few times last season when they were paired up again at Triple-A Memphis – shortstop Masyn Winn and outfielder Jordan Walker would openly dream about the days when they would be in starring roles in the big leagues for the Cardinals.

On Tuesday, when the Cardinals rallied for four eighth-inning runs to break open a tied game, the fingerprints of the 22-year-old foundational pieces were all over the Redbirds’ 7-3 win over the Rockies.

Winn, who was questionable to even play after straining his triceps muscle during an awkward pregame swing in the batting cages, had a two-run home run in the third inning that gave him 150 hits and 15 long balls on the season. Walker broke a 3-3 tie with a hard-hit grounder through the left side to jump-start the scoring spree in the eighth. Then, following another run-scoring single by 23-year-old speedster Victor Scott II, Winn followed with a two-run double that capped the stirring rally and gave him a career-best four RBIs.

“The other day when Jordan hit a homer, I hit a double that day, but I wanted a homer, too, to solidify that [partnership],” Winn said. “It’s amazing to do it now. I love that guy because we’ve been playing together for so long now. We’re so close and we do pretty much everything together. So, to see him have success and have us both rolling right now, it’s nice.”

The Cardinals came into Tuesday with a combined 975 games played by players 25 years old or younger -- the most in MLB this season -- and many of those young faces showed up in key roles again against the Rockies.

Rookie right-hander Michael McGreevy -- St. Louis’ No. 10 prospect -- limited the Rockies to six hits and two earned runs over five innings of work, while lefty reliever Matthew Liberatore pitched out a jam in the eighth inning.

“As a staff, it’s something that we look at because we’ve had to do a lot of teaching and instructing because guys are still developing at the highest level,” Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said of his club’s cluster of young players. “But it’s good to see them succeeding in those moments. It was a solid day for a lot of reasons, but that was one of them.”

McGreevy, who induced nine-ground ball outs in the game’s first five innings of work, took note of how the Cardinals' young core propelled the squad to a victory on Tuesday.

“Seeing Vic, Masyn and Jordan making plays and [Thomas Saggese] turning that double play late in the game, it’s super encouraging,” McGreevy said following the second MLB start of his young career. “It’s awesome to see the young guys contributing and I think Cardinals fans should be excited.”

The Cardinals grabbed an early 2-0 lead when Winn hit a 2-2 pitch 391 feet, per Statcast, for his 15th home run of the season. The two-run shot also proved to be Winn’s 150th hit of the season and his 76th hit with two strikes.

Winn became just the fourth Cardinals rookie in the last 68 seasons (1957-present) with at least 150 hits, joining Albert Pujols (194 hits in 2001), Vince Coleman (170 hits in 1985) and Bake McBride (173 hits in 1974). Pujols, Coleman and McBride all won the National League Rookie of the Year awards, a designation that Winn will likely come up short of based on what Jackson Merrill, Jackson Chourio and Paul Skenes have done this season.

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“It’s sick and that’s a great group to be a part of,” Winn said. “It’s a shame I’ve got to go against some of the best in the rookie class right now, but it’s been a fun year. I love competing and I love hitting and playing defense.”

Walker, who is in his third stint with the Cardinals this season after struggling to come through in big spots, showed off his late-season progress by laying off Angel Chivilli’s changeups and sinkers and sitting an elevated pitch for his go-ahead knock.

“It feels really good, especially knowing how much work I’ve put in, Vic has put in and Masyn has put in,” Walker said. “It was a really nice feeling seeing all of us come through.”

It’s all going according to the dreams that Walker and Winn discussed years earlier in the Minor Leagues.

“[Winn] has been leading the way all season, in my opinion, but it’s just super cool for me to be able to share this moment with him tonight,” Walker said.