Cards phenom Walker one-ups Ted Williams

DENVER -- Move over, Teddy Ballgame. There’s a new kid in town, and he’s chasing a record that’s stood for over a century.

Jordan Walker extended his career-opening hitting streak to 10 games during the Cardinals' 7-4 loss to the Rockies on Monday, slapping a two-out single up the middle in the top of the seventh to move past Hall of Famer Ted Williams into second place among streaks to start a career for players under 21 years old.

“There have been some clutch situations where I haven't performed,” Walker said. “But as of right now, at the plate, I feel like as long as I keep putting the ball in play, things will work out. That's kind of my mindset right now. It's just a small sample size. Pretty much just trying to keep putting the ball in play is really my focus.”

Eddie Murphy holds the high-water mark of a 12-game streak in 1912. Williams, Murphy and Walker are the only NL/AL players to reach nine games or more since 1900.

Walker also moved past Magneuris Sierra, breaking the Cardinals' rookie record for players of any age. Sierra was 21 years and 30 days old when he played his first game in the Majors in 2017. Walker turns 21 on May 22.

“He continues to take really good swings,” manager Oliver Marmol said. “He looks good.”

Walker was 1-for-4 on the night and is now hitting .342 (13-for-38) to start the season and his career. He’s had a hard time celebrating during the 10-game span, however, as it coincides with a 3-7 start to the Cardinals' season, losing six of their last seven.

“As of right now, I can't really think about [the record] too much,” Walker said. “A little frustrating day. I really haven't thought about it too much to be honest.”

Monday’s starter, Steven Matz, shared that frustration -- a feeling coursing through the Cardinals’ rotation. He allowed six runs on nine hits and two walks over 5 2/3 innings while striking out four and raising his career ERA at Coors Field to 9.29.

“Seven singles -- that’s frustrating,” Matz said. “I left a couple balls up, but I think ultimately, I made a lot of good pitches. I’m really kicking myself about that last curve I left up [leading to a two-out run-scoring single from Alan Trejo]. I was ahead in the count and gave them a chance. Otherwise, we were staying right in the ballgame there.”

The performance added to the woes of a rotation sporting a 5.96 ERA and averaging just over five innings per start.

“Trust me, this clubhouse doesn't love it one bit,” Marmol said of his team’s rough start to the season. “But we'll break through. There's a lot of confidence in the way we communicate amongst each other, and we'll be fine. But yeah, we want to break through.”

Paul Goldschmidt was 2-for-3 with a pair of RBI hits, and rookie Alec Burleson hit his first career triple to extend his career-high hitting streak to six games.

But if the Cards need inspiration to keep going, they need look no further than Walker. The rookie continues to find a way to succeed on a daily basis, and through it all, he is keeping his focus squarely on the team goals. It’s a large load to lay on the shoulders of a 20-year-old, but Walker has risen to the challenge on a daily basis -- it’s all he knows at this point, and that’s a good thing for the club.

“This obviously hasn't started the way we want it to with the 3-7 record, but at the end of the day, we'll figure out a way through this, and it'll be fine,” Marmol said. “That clubhouse has a lot of confidence in what they're able to do as well as their preparation, so we'll keep going.”