Matt Carpenter is hotter than the sun

Cardinals 1B hit 3 home runs and 2 doubles against the Cubs

There is no hotter hitter in baseball right now than St. Louis Cardinals infielder Matt Carpenter, who had a career day on Friday against the rival Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field.

Carpenter tied a major league record with five extra-base hits, including three home runs, but before he had a chance to beat that mark he left the game in just the sixth inning. There didn’t appear to be any sort of injury, as Carpenter was one of three position players removed on defense with St. Louis up 15-1, thanks in large part to Carpenter.

The eight-year vet already homered in the first game of this series, on Thursday night. He also homered in the Cardinals’ final two games before the All-Star break. He’s hitting .352/.470/.926 in 15 games in July.

Starting at first base on Friday, here’s how Carpenter’s day went:

• First inning: Homers to right field off Jon Lester to lead off the game
• Second inning: Homers to right center field off Lester, this time a two-run shot
• Fourth inning: Doubles over Kyle Schwarber’s head in left field, also against Lester
• Fourth innings: Batting for the second time in the frame, doubles to right field to score a run
• Sixth inning: A three-run home run to right field against Brian Duensing

Then Carpenter exited with that big lead, still with three potential innings to add to his prodigious totals. As it is, Carpenter’s production was impressive as it is.

Carpenter began Friday hitting .263/.373/.536, and ended his day hitting .274/.381/.576. He raised his slugging percentage by 40 points (!!) in one day, and saw his OPS climb by 48 points. What a day.

His seven RBI set a new career high, and Carpenter’s 16 total bases tied a Cardinals franchise record, also held by Hard Hittin’ Mark Whiten in his four-home run game in 1993.

Did I mention Carpenter did this in only six innings?

The only player ever with more total bases in a game at Wrigley Field was Hall of Famer Mike Schmidt, who had 17 total bases in a 10-inning game for the Philadelphia Phillies in 1976, a classic 18-16 slugfest.

Carpenter had just the 11th game of five extra-base hits in the last 111 seasons, though this is the fourth straight year someone has pulled off the feat. Jackie Bradley Jr. did so in 2015, Kris Bryant did the same in 2016, and Jose Ramirez pulled it off in 2017.

But again, Carpenter did this in just six innings.

The earliest any of the previous 10 players to get their fifth extra-base hit of the game was the eighth inning, two innings later than Carpenter. With the Cardinals on the road, he would have batted at least once more. It sure would have been interesting to see him get a chance to add to his totals.