Cardinals Become 2nd Team to Have 2 Rookies Hit Multiple Homers in 1 Postseason

The St. Louis Cardinals have always been known to find key contributors in unexpected places, and their 2014 postseason run has been no different. Much of the team's offensive spark in October has come from the bats of two rookies—second baseman Kolten Wong and outfielder Randal Grichuk—who have hit three and two home runs this postseason, respectively.

Per Lee Sinins of Complete Baseball Encyclopedia, the 2014 Cardinals are one of only two teams in MLB history to have multiple rookies contribute two or more postseason home runs.

The other team to have accomplished this feat was the 2007 Arizona Diamondbacks, with both Chris Young and Mark Reynolds collecting two long balls in postseason play. That particular squad eventually fell four games to none in the NLCS to the Colorado Rockies.

Jumping ahead to 2014, the Cardinals are getting even more production from their rookies—Wong in particular. The 24-year-old is the first rookie middle infielder in playoff history to have collected three long balls in postseason play, according to Lee Sinins of Complete Baseball Encyclopedia.

Furthermore, Wong is the first rookie in Cardinals playoff history to record an extra-base hit in three consecutive at-bats, per ESPN Stats and Info. That streak started in Game 3 of the NLCS against the San Francisco Giants with a walk-off home run, then continued into Game 4, when Wong started his day with a double in the second inning, followed by a triple in the fourth.

Despite the rookie contributions, the Cardinals now find themselves facing a 3-1 deficit heading into Thursday night's game, for which they'll have ace Adam Wainwright on the mound. They'll need their rookies to continue contributing, however, as they'll be squaring off on the brink of elimination against red-hot Giants ace Madison Bumgarner.