Feeling 'fine,' Goldy looking to get bat going again

LOS ANGELES -- Back on Aug. 25, a day when Paul Goldschmidt crafted a three-hit, two-homer, five-RBI-day to pull within one long ball of leading the National League in the top three major offensive categories, the Cardinals star slugger swatted away Triple Crown talk like it was some sort of hanging curveball in his wheelhouse.

“Listen, if something like that happened, it would be a miracle,” Goldschmidt said late that afternoon at Wrigley Field, when he was sitting on a .339 average and 105 RBIs -- both tops in the league at the time -- and 33 home runs, just one back of Phillies slugger Kyle Schwarber at the time.

Not that he wanted to be right about his Triple Crown chances being “probably far-fetched,” but Goldschmidt now looks pretty sage considering how his production has drastically plummeted. Not surprisingly, when the MVP candidate’s slugging dropped off, it coincided with a major offensive downturn for the Cardinals, who lost, 4-1, to the Dodgers on Sunday at Dodger Stadium.

No two months illustrate Goldschmidt’s dramatic downturn than the last two. In August, Goldschmidt helped the Cardinals win big series over the Yankees and Braves and take control of the NL Central by hitting .343 with nine home runs and 27 RBIs in 28 games. In the 21 September games since, Goldschmidt has hit just .224 with two home runs, seven RBIs and twice as many strikeouts (20) as walks (10).

Goldschmidt doesn’t need those numbers spouted off to know that he is in his worst funk of the season -- one that is even more shocking to the system considering how dynamic the All-Star was over the season’s first five months.

“I’ve felt fine the whole time, but I just haven’t played well,” Goldschmidt said on heels of an 0-for-4, two-strikeout performance that left him 1-for-11 with five strikeouts against the Dodgers. “Unfortunately, this is part of the game. I’m doing everything possible to try and play better, whether it’s in the cage or with video. It hasn’t worked these last few weeks. So, I’ll keep trying to work and play better.”

Goldschmidt’s time on the West Coast against the Padres and Dodgers -- 4-for-22 with seven strikeouts -- has closely resembled his puzzling funk over the past four-and-a-half weeks. During that stretch, Goldschmidt is just 21-for-97 (.216) with just four multi-hit games. That slide has caused his batting average to plummet 22 points, while he’s hit two home runs and driven in just seven runs during his only prolonged drought of an otherwise fantastic season.

“It’s not like I’ve been driving the ball like I have over other parts of the year,” Goldschmidt said. “There are no excuses. I have not played well for a little bit of time now and I’m doing everything I can to play better.”

As proof of that, Goldschmidt’s T-shirt was stained with sweat following a postgame weight room session. Largely because Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado dipped offensively at the same time, the Cardinals had a dubious 47-inning stretch without an earned run scored and a 31-inning scoreless streak before a solo home run by Lars Nootbaar on Thursday in San Diego. Spurred by the 699th and 700th home runs for Albert Pujols, the Cardinals scored 11 runs in a rout of the Dodgers on Friday. However, they scored just three runs combined in the next two games.

The Cardinals head to Milwaukee for games on Tuesday and Wednesday, when they will have a chance to clinch the NL Central title, as the Brewers’ loss Sunday dropped St. Louis’ magic number to three. Manager Oliver Marmol hopes the chance to lock up a division title will bring out the best in the Cardinals’ offense and, more specifically, the ultra-competitive Goldschmidt.

“I rely on his commentary more than my eyes when it comes to him, because sometimes he’s just a click away and he goes [well],” said Marmol. “So, right now I’m just relying on, ‘How do you feel? Where you at?’ He feels like he’s really close to breaking out.”

As accurately predicted by Goldschmidt in late August, it would take a “miracle” now for him to win the Triple Crown -- something that hasn’t been done in the NL since Joe “Ducky” Medwick in 1937. His average (.317) is 11 points back of Freddie Freeman (.328). He’s 16 RBIs behind Pete Alonso’s 128 and he’s dropped into a tie for fifth in home runs at 35.

Goldschmidt says he couldn’t care less about his personal numbers. He wants to produce to do his job and help the Cardinals win.

“Getting up with guys on base and not getting the job done or not getting on for Nolan … I want to play better,” he said. “I haven’t done it the past few weeks or a month or so, and I’m doing everything I can to make it happen. Hopefully, it will happen as soon as possible.”