Cardinals’ Nate Church earns all the ‘love’ after insane robbery of Pirates walk-off HR

It has been a great seven days for St. Louis Cardinals rookie outfielder Nate Church. On April 25 against the Seattle Mariners, Church had his first multi-home run game.

Now, it is his defense that is earning praise, after Church robbed Pittsburgh Pirates batter Nick Golzalez of a walk-off home run, according to Brenden Schaeffer of MLB.com.

NATHAN CHURCH ROBS A WOULD-BE WALK-OFF HOMER @CARDINALS WIN! pic.twitter.com/4cz5zHWJXm

— MLB (@MLB) April 30, 2026

With two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning, the Cardinals were up 5-4. There was a man on first base as Riley O’Brien threw a slider to Gonzales. The ball went deep to left field, in what looked like a game-winning home run, but Church snagged the ball to end the game.

“Initially off the bat, I thought it was gone,” O’Brien said.

O’Brien was not the only one who thought the game was over.

“Off the bat, I thought it was, not just a homer, I thought it was way gone,” Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said.

The rookie got plenty of love from his teammates after clinching the game.

“I said, ‘I love you. Thank you for catching that,’” O’Brien grinned.

This is becoming a normal feat for Church. He has already hit multiple home runs this year, and his defense has been stellar. His 0.4 Defensive WAR ranks him 20th in the majors so far this year. It is becoming so routine for Church to make big plays in the outfield. Cardinals starter Andre Pallante knew the game was over as soon as the ball was heading to left field.

“Popped him up,” Pallante said plainly. “Fly ball to left. Everything to left field is an out. We love having Church out there.”

The Cardinals are now 17-13 on the season, and in third in the NL Central. The Cardinals go for the four-game sweep of the Pirates on Thursday afternoon.

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