What's Going Right For Paul Goldschmidt This May?

St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Paul Goldschmidt has had himself quite a May, hitting well over .400 with nine home runs and 30 RBI. We're here to figure out just what's gone right for him this month.

It took until April 29 for Paul Goldschmidt to hit his first home run of the 2022 season, a solo home run against the Arizona Diamondbacks in a 6-2 loss.

His average on the season sat at .293, but fell down to .282 on April 30 after an 0-for-3 day with a strikeout.

It was an uncharacteristically unproductive month for Goldy, a player who is a perennial 30+ home run hitter and NL MVP candidate.

However, things changed in a big way starting on May 2. That day, Goldschmidt hit his second home run of 2022, a 383-foot homer pulled into the left field bleachers at Busch Stadium.

Starting on May 2, Goldy has hit .415/.472/.830 with nine home runs, 30 RBI, 12 doubles, absolutely raking this month.

There is no hitter in baseball, not even the red-hot Trevor Story, who is doing what the first baseman is doing in May.

What's a bit uncharacteristic about Goldschmidt's month is that just one of his nine home runs traveled 400 feet or more, so he's not hitting 450+ blasts like we've seen him do before.

Instead, we're seeing him hit the ball to the gaps more as he's hit 12 doubles and has 18 singles. The home runs are simply coming as he's gotten more settled in to the season and looks more confident overall at the plate.

The recipe to his success stems from a number of things: taking advantage with running in scoring position, hitting well at home and raking off left-handed pitching.

Goldschmidt leads Major League Baseball in batting average with runners in scoring position, currently hitting a scorching hot .533 with three home runs and 28 RBI.

His .500 average against left-handed pitching is amongst the leaders in the league as well and at home, he's hitting .402/.467/.744 with eight home runs and 26 RBI. You see those numbers at Coors Field, not St. Louis.

That's also coincided with the Cardinals success as a team as they're currently 14-11 in May and are in the top 10 of most offensive categories in the month.

It's a great sign for this team and a great sign for Goldschmidt, as positive consistency will take this team far as the dog days of summer hit.