JJ Wetherholt is having a weekend he won’t forget anytime soon. The St. Louis Cardinals rookie shortstop went deep in the first and second innings Sunday against the Kansas City Royals, and in doing so, he put his name next to some pretty exclusive company.
According to MLB.com’s Sarah Langs, it was just the 12th time in franchise history that a Cardinals player hit two home runs through the first two innings of a game. The last guy to do it? Paul Goldschmidt back in 2022. The only other Cardinals rookie to pull off back-to-back homer innings was Chris Duncan in 2006.
That puts Wetherholt in a tiny group. And the way he did it was no joke either. His second blast was a two-run shot with the Cardinals already leading 5-2. He essentially put the game away before most fans had even settled into their seats.
Wetherholt’s been on a tear
It’s not just one game, either. The 22-year-old is hitting .407 over his last seven games. For a team that wasn’t supposed to do much in 2026, Wetherholt’s emergence has been a massive lift. The Cardinals traded away or let walk several veterans during the offseason, including starter Sonny Gray, and most pundits wrote them off.
But here they are. St. Louis entered play Sunday at 40-34, sitting second in the NL Central. They’ve lost six of their last 10, so that’s not ideal, but the overall picture is still way better than anyone expected. Wetherholt is a big reason why.
Fans at Busch Stadium were on their feet after the second homer. The place had that kind of buzz you only get when a young kid looks like he might be the real deal. And honestly, this season has been full of those moments for St. Louis.
The Cardinals still had three more innings to play as of this writing. So maybe Wetherholt’s got another one in him. Wouldn’t surprise anyone at this point.
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