“JOE DIMAGGIO HERE WE COME” - Fans pump the tires of Paul Goldschmidt after a 2-run bomb extends hit streak to 21 games

Paul Goldschmidt and the St. Louis Cardinals are knocking on the door of the National League Central top spot. Although still four games behind the Milwaukee Brewers for that coveted seat, the Cards have won seven of their last 10 games.

A big part of that success has been first baseman Paul Goldschmidt, who extended his hit streak to 21 games yesterday in style. Baseball fans everywhere are now taking to their social media accounts to trumpet Goldschmidt, who many believe is a top candidate for the this year's NL MVP.

Paul Goldschmidt takes San Diego Padres yard, extends hit streak to 21 games

Paul Goldschmidt is in his fourth season with the Cardinals. The former franchise player for the Arizona Diamondbacks has finished in the top 10 in MVP voting eight times, including two runner-up results.

In 2013 he led the MLB in home runs, RBIs, and slugging percentage. So far this year, Goldschmidt is leading the league in hits with 63. He also has the highest SLG in baseball at a very impressive .551.

Over his last seven games, Goldschmidt has batted .407 with five home runs and 13 RBIs. He has been an integral part of why the Cardinals now look like they are poised to overtake the Brewers for the top spot in their division.

Yesterday, Goldschmidt took the plate in the seventh. He had walked and grounded out twice. He needed to keep the hit streak alive.

Facing San Diego Padres reliever Steven Wilson, Goldschmidt absolutely rocked a 2-2 pitch high and deep to right field, putting the Cardinals up by a score of 5-2 in the seventh inning. The Cardinals would hold on and down the Padres by a score of 6-3.

Fans took to Twitter to extoll Goldschmidt's white-hot streak and importance to his team. Many of the calls were for him to be the NL MVP this year.

It appears that if Goldschmidt keeps up the work, that might well be possible. He currently has 11 home runs and 42 RBIs on the season. Maybe this will be the year that Paul Goldschmidt finally wins himself an MVP Award.

About the author

Adrian Dorney is a baseball journalist at Sportskeeda. Having worked over five years in the industry, Adrian strives to combine statistical analysis with the human side of baseball reporting. Since a lot of his briefs involve publishing content with urgency, he has perfected a process involving a combination of trustworthy sources and assessment with intuition.

His lifelong tryst with baseball began with growing up in Toronto and watching the Blue Jays regularly. His favorite player is Baltimore Orioles legend Cal Ripken Jr., and Jose Bautista's go-ahead home run in 2015 ALDS Game 5 remains his favorite baseball memory to date.

When not working, Adrian is constantly looking to learn new things and he also loves playing golf and chess.

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