ST. LOUIS (AP) — St. Louis outfielder Jordan Walker hit his MLB-leading eighth homer of the season Monday night, and his season-opening power display has placed him among some of the Cardinals' greats.
With the homer in the 9-3 loss to the Cleveland Guardians, Walker became the fifth player in Cardinals history to hit at least eight homers in the first 16 games of a season, joining St. Louis standouts Stan Musial (1954), Mark McGwire (1998), Scott Rolen (2004) and Albert Pujols (2006).
“It means a lot, man,” Walker said. "I mean, those are the greats. So, you learn about those guys early on, as soon as you come into the Cardinals organization. So, you know, to be put with them is pretty special.”
Walker’s 398-foot solo shot to lead off the sixth inning was one of the few highlights in the loss to the Guardians that dropped St. Louis to 8-8.
The 23-year-old Walker and Albert Pujols (age 21 in 2001) are the only Cardinals to hit eight or more homers in March and April before turning 24.
Walker has homered in three straight games and in seven of his last nine games. He became the first Cardinals player to accomplish the feat since Paul Goldschmidt in 2022. The first round pick, 21st overall, in 2020 had just 11 total home runs in 527 at bats in the previous two seasons combined.
For his career, Walker had 16 homers in 117 games in 2023, five in 51 games in 2024 and six in 111 games last season.
“Just the work and the preparation is key, and he’s benefiting a ton from that right now, an absolute ton,” Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said. “You can just see the calmness when he’s taking his at bats. When you’re prepared for the test, man, it’s a lot easier to go up there and trust it.”
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
St. Louis Cardinals' Jordan Walker rounds the bases after hitting a solo home run in second inning of a baseball game against the Boston Red Sox, Sunday, April 12, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Michael Thomas)
St. Louis Cardinals' Jordan Walker tosses his bat after flying out to end a baseball game against the Cleveland Guardians Monday, April 13, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)
St. Louis Cardinals' Jordan Walker hits a solo homerun in the eighth inning of a baseball game against the Boston Red Sox, Saturday, April 11, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Michael Thomas)
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Prince Harry and his wife Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, arrived in Melbourne on Tuesday for their first Australian visit since their official royal tour in 2018.
The lower-key four-day Australian visit comes after the couple announced in 2020 they planned to “step back” as senior royals and to become financially independent in their Californian base.
The Sussexes describe their visit as privately funded, and they flew to Melbourne business class from Los Angeles on a commercial Qantas Airways flight. But there have been public complaints about the added security costs for police agencies as the couple visits Melbourne, Canberra and Sydney.
The cost of security explains why the couple won’t be greeted by thousands of people at public events as they were during their 16-day tour as newlyweds in 2018 to Australia, New Zealand, Fiji and Tonga.
The couple’s children Prince Archie, 6, and Princess Lilibet, 4, are not traveling with them. Meghan announced she was pregnant with their first child while she was in Sydney in 2018.
Melbourne’s Herald Sun newspaper descried the latest visit as a ”faux royal tour to shore up Brand Sussex.”
There have been criticisms of the couple attending paid ticketed events while in Australia.
The Sussexes reject criticisms that the visit is a publicity tour.
“The program is rooted in long-standing areas of work for the Duke and the Duchess, with a clear focus on amplifying organizations delivering measurable impact. The visit prioritises listening, learning and supporting communities rather than promotion,” the Sussexes' office said in a statement.
There were also “a small number of private engagements” to “support broader commercial, charitable and commercial objectives,” the statement said.
Afua Hagan, a media commentator on the British royal family, said the news media typically portrayed the Sussexes as “villains.”
“This is a privately funded trip. To pay for that, they’re going to have to have some commercial interest,” Hagan told Australian Broadcasting Corp.
“If they didn’t have commercial interest, the problem would be: ‘Oh my goodness, these people are leeching off the Royal Family and the taxpayers whether or not they’re making their own money. How dare they make their own money.’ They can’t do right for doing wrong,” Hagan added.
In Melbourne, one or both of the Sussexes are scheduled to visit a children’s hospital, a women’s shelter and a veterans’ art museum.
Harry will visit the Australian War Memorial in the national capital, Canberra. The couple will join an Invictus Australia sailing event on Sydney Harbor.
The 2018, the couple hosted the opening of the Invictus Games in Sydney. Harry founded the sporting event in 2014 where sick and injured military personnel and veterans compete.
Britain's Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, meets patient Hamish on the Adolescent Oncology and Rehabilitation ward during a visit to the Royal Children's Hospital Melbourne, Australia Tuesday, April 14, 2026. (Jonathan Brady/Pool Photo via AP)
Britain's Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, visit the Royal Children's Hospital Melbourne, Australia Tuesday, April 14, 2026. (Jonathan Brady/Pool Photo via AP)
Britain's Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, visits the Royal Children's Hospital Melbourne, Australia Tuesday, April 14, 2026. (Jonathan Brady/Pool Photo via AP)
Britain's Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, meet patients and their family members during a visit to the Royal Children's Hospital Melbourne, Australia Tuesday, April 14, 2026. (Jonathan Brady/Pool Photo via AP)
Britain's Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, visit the Royal Children's Hospital Melbourne, Australia Tuesday, April 14, 2026. (Jonathan Brady/Pool Photo via AP)
Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex, meets a young child during a visit to the Royal Children's Hospital Melbourne, Australia Tuesday, April 14, 2026. (Jonathan Brady/Pool Photo via AP)
Britain's Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, visit the Royal Children's Hospital Melbourne, Australia Tuesday, April 14, 2026. (Jonathan Brady/Pool Photo via AP)
