Jedd Gyorko will forever be a WVU baseball legend. He may soon be an immortal with the St. Louis Cardinals.
In the St. Louis doubleheader with the New York Mets, the visiting Cardinals were able to earn a split. Gyorko paced his team, in both game, and created some history along the way.
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On Tuesday, Gyorko hit a home run in both games of the doubleheader. The Cardinals won Game 1, 3-2, as Gyorko’s two-run homer was just what the team needed to secure the win.
In Game 2, Gyorko had a solo home run, which was the Cardinals’ lone run in a 3-1 defeat. The Cardinals currently have a record of 53-47. They 6.5 games out of the National League Central Division race, with the Chicago Cubs running away with first place. However, the Cardinals are just one game out of the second Wild Card spot in the National League.
With the home runs, one in each game in the same day, Gyorko did something that no other St. Louis player, aside from a legendary Hall of Fame, has ever done before.
Jedd Gyorko is the first #STLCards player to homer in both games of a doubleheader multiple times in one season since Stan Musial in 1949.
— Ryan M. Spaeder (@theaceofspaeder) July 27, 2016
On July 20, against his former team, the San Diego Padres, Gyorko went deep twice, too. So, four of his 13 home runs this season have come in doubleheader days.
It’s been 67 years since the feat had been accomplished. It’s not like Gyorko was going out to set a record, either. He has just been playing “his game” all season long. This is his first season with St. Louis. He had a lot to prove to the baseball-loving town, especially after his time with the Padres came to a close.
Gyorko signed an extension with the Padres just one season after his rookie year. His performance at the plate took a hit and it didn’t look like the small market Padres made a good investment in the former Mountaineer infielder.
https://twitter.com/WVUBaseball/status/758114843371114497
Gyorko is on a torrid pace, right when his team needs him in the thick of a pennant race. The Cardinals used Gyorko as the Opening Day second baseman and they have rotated him to almost every spot in the infield throughout the season.
With a .257 batting average and an OPS of over .800, St. Louis should find a full-time, everyday position for the WVU legend. He has earned his spot and will thrive at any position. This year is Gyorko’s first chance to make the playoffs in his, still young MLB career.
He made his MLB debut in 2013 and has experienced quite the roller coaster of a career. It seems that he may have some staying power in St. Louis, if that power stroke continues through games in the future.