(Busch Stadium) As Luke Voit walked to the plate in the bottom of the 8th inning, he had a big smile across his face. And it only got bigger.
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“I faced that guy like 20-30 times,” shared Voit of Miami pitcher Jarlin Garcia. “I faced him a whole bunch in High-A because we share that complex with the Marlins, so I faced him a bunch.”
The result was a 429 foot blast onto the hill in centerfield as the St. Louis Cardinals rookie connected for his first home run.
“I don’t even know if I have good success off him or not,” continued Voit. “But I know what he’s got and I know what he’s going to try and do to me, so that’s kind of a good confidence. That’s what I’m trying to learn from all these other guys because all these other guys have so much experience with the guys they’ve faced. It’s good with our hitters meetings to find all this information out so I have an idea what’s going to go on.”
Starting at first base as Matt Carpenter moved over to second, Voit also had a 2-run double earlier in the game and finished with four RBIs on the night. It’s the most by a Cardinals rookie this season, passing Paul DeJong’s three against Baltimore last month.
“It was definitely something I knew off the bat,” said Voit of his homer. “It’s my job to do–to drive in runs. That’s what I gotta do. A big thing that they want is hit with runners in scoring position and drive in runs. I’m just going to try and do whatever I can–whether it’s an infield single, a bomb, or a double.”
But for the guy who owns a “Rake City” t-shirt and has already started a catchphrase of “Bombs and Doubles”, it’s nice to get the long ball to go with his three doubles.
“I just put my head down and started smiling, it’s an unbelievable feeling. Good to get that first one out of the way.”
photo credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports, Chris Lee/St. Louis Post-Dispatch/TNS via Getty Images
